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nearly

adverb

Form of near , adverb of near.

Simple meaning

In close approximation.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

nirlee

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈnɪɹli

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. In close approximation; almost, virtually.

  2. In a close manner

  3. Closely, in close proximity.

  4. With close relation; intimately.

  5. Stingily.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: In close approximation; almost, virtually.

Used this way, nearly is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

nearly equalnearly identicalnearly impossible

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • nearadjectiveBase word

    Not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • neareradverbDerived adverb

    Within a shorter distance.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: in close approximation

aboutclosely

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.