utterly
adverb
Form of utter , adverb of utter.
Simple meaning
Completely and without qualification.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhterleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʌtɚli
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
Completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
Completely; entirely; to the fullest extent.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: Completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
Used this way, utterly 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.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Usage
Used for emphasis, almost always before an adjective with a strong or negative meaning.
Common: “utterly impossible”
Less natural: “utterly good”
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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.