primarily
adverb
Simple meaning
Mainly, or more than anything else.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
prymehruhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɹaɪˈmɛɹəli
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
focus
Of a primary or central nature, first and foremost.
“This is primarily a question of economics.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (focus) Of a primary or central nature, first and foremost.
Used this way, primarily is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“This is primarily a question of economics.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- 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.
More ways to use primarily
- “This is primarily a question of economics.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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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.