very

adverb · adjective

Simple meaning

To a great extent or degree.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

vehree

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈvɛɹi

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

To a great extent or degree.
Used as intensifiers; `real' is sometimes used informally for `really'; `rattling' is informal
with superlatives
Used to firmly establish that nothing else surpasses in some respect.
Conforming to fact, reality or rule; true.

adjective

literary
True, real, actual.
The same; identical.
With limiting effect: mere.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

More ways to use very

“She was very gifted.”adverb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Great

very importantvery largevery difficult

Other combinations

very differentvery goodvery smallvery highvery low

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

very fastadverbCompound term
In a relatively short time.
very high frequencynounCompound term
30 to 300 megahertz.
very important personnounCompound term
An important or influential (and often overbearing) person.
very-lightnounCompound term
A colored flare fired from a Very pistol.
very loudlyadverbCompound term
A direction in music.
very low density lipoproteinnounCompound term
Large lipoproteins rich in triglycerides.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to a great extent or degree

reallyInformalrealInformal

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Looking for a more precise alternative? “very” can mean several things.

exhaustedravenousmeticulouscriticaldelighted

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Better Words for “Very”
“Very” is a filler intensifier. Learn stronger intensifiers like “extremely” and “remarkably,” plus the single words that replace “very + adjective” entirely.

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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.