1
as in innocently
with purity of thought and deed the devout girl vowed to live her life purely and in the service of God

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in solely
for nothing other than I fish purely for the fun of it—I don't care if I end up with no fish to fry

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in only
nothing more than her pleasantries were purely for show and masked her true feelings

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of purely All in all, a prudent categorization in this context cannot do something blindly such as purely relying on the number of words. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024 These approaches give consumers more reasons to return, helping to build brand loyalty in a way that purely transactional relationships can’t. Peter Su, Rolling Stone, 6 Dec. 2024 Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities, is for purely civilian purposes. Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024 On a purely personal level, Wallace’s sense of betrayal would probably bear a close resemblance to Michael’s response to Sam showing up out of the blue in the previous episode. Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for purely 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purely
Adverb
  • For example, hit-and-run sales organizations focus solely on hitting numbers without investing in long-term success.
    James Loffler, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
  • But until last year, Globe noms were solely determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of fewer than 100 people based in and around LA.
    Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • An All-Star in six seasons, Colavito provided the muscle for the Cleveland Indians and several other American League teams in the late ’50s and ’60s, an era in which only a handful of Hall of Famers outslugged him.
    Zack Meisel, The Athletic, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Rocky Colavito, who was one of baseball’s leading sluggers in his time and a huge fan favorite playing the outfield for the Cleveland Indians, only to be traded away in the most infamous deal in the club’s history, has died.
    Richard Goldstein, New York Times, 11 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • Jet planes have lots of speed but need runways and even the STOVL variety need a properly flat surface to land on.
    David Szondy, New Atlas, 7 Dec. 2024
  • For businesses too, this issue serves as a timely warning of the risks that AI can pose when not properly controlled, particularly in high-stakes contexts where reputation, legal compliance, and operational efficiency are crucial.
    Douglas B. Laney, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • Moments after she was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Dec. 2, the Scandal alum, 47, exclusively told PEOPLE how her milestone achievement had long been one of her father Earl Washington's dreams.
    Esther Kang, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024
  • The notion that press releases exist exclusively for garnering the media’s interest is a myth.
    Michele Schiavoni, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • But when 9-1-1: Lone Star returns in January for the Fox drama's final four episodes, the firefighters of Station 126 have just an hour's notice that an asteroid is headed right to Austin.
    EW.com, EW.com, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Nicole Kidman just pulled off a major sustainable style flex.
    Chiara Kim, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • Smaller firms simply lack the resources to compete in this space.
    Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Perhaps things are so tough right now that simply for Spurs to escape with a point and no fresh injuries is a big plus.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • In Ross’s hands, the device becomes something overwhelmingly expressive: the images, rather than merely recording Elwood’s emotions, register the cause of those emotions and allow the viewer to partake in his inner world.
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2024
  • As Lavery mentions in her aforementioned 2020 essay, the metaphor also makes reference to the idea that the trans person, before realizing their identity, is merely a shell.
    Evelyn Bauer, Them, 5 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near purely

Cite this Entry

“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

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