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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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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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 In the short term, if Trump withdraws from alliances and multilateral institutions, his purely transactional foreign policy may succeed in extracting greater concessions from countries that depend on U.S. security guarantees or cannot afford to lose access to American markets. Alexander Cooley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025 Mayor George Van Dusen emphasized that the board won’t have to commit to deciding until the village’s budget season picks up again later in the year and that the presentation was purely informative to give the trustees a preview of their options. Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025 At the time, legal experts said that wasn't true, that the vice president's role in certification, even according to the original Electoral Count Act, was purely ministerial. Miles Parks, NPR, 6 Jan. 2025 This is purely a player problem; the bowl, school and sponsors have no responsibility to hold athletes’ hands through the process. Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 1 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for purely 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purely
Adverb
  • The lawsuit claims the city never entered into a contract or agreement with the Richard Mays Law Firm to represent the city in the matter, meaning the money paid by the city was performed solely for the benefit of the 18 residents, not the city.
    Tom Sissom, arkansasonline.com, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Even senior officials in the U.S. administration explicitly stated that Israel has agreed to the deal, and its implementation now depends solely on the agreement of Hamas.
    Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • The family lost their Altadena home — and Avery had time to bring only a handful of items, including medication and a pair of sunglasses.
    Angela Yang, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Advertisement In all three of those areas, faults in the days leading up to the fires were negligible, with only a few occurring.
    Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • One way to do this properly is to use generative AI (GenAI).
    Zameer Rizvi, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The report also called for repairs of peeling and cracking floor surface coating, which prevents them from being cleaned properly.
    Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • Like previous seasons, season four of Mythic Quest will include 10 episodes, all streaming exclusively on Apple's streaming service.
    John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
  • The 16-piece capsule collection will be available exclusively on Moda Operandi’s and Posse’s websites starting Tuesday.
    Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 14 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • WhatsApp has just unveiled its latest release, with new features and design upgrades focused on making chats more fun and more creative.
    David Phelan, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Apply just one layer for a skin-tint effect, or build for more comprehensive coverage.
    Angela Trakoshis, Allure, 14 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • Perhaps the solution is simply getting Hurts back in practice with the fullness of the offensive roster available.
    Brooks Kubena, The Athletic, 13 Jan. 2025
  • At what point can an average person, even the above-average-but-not-filthy-rich person, simply not afford the rebuild or the risk?
    Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • As things stand, that would be enough via the present UEFA coefficient to secure Champions League football for 2025-26, but Newcastle are looking up and hunting down those above them rather than merely defending their own position.
    Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025
  • In contrast, Soviet engineers developed a rocket more closely based on the V-2, opting for a simple satellite that would merely broadcast its presence.
    Smithsonian magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near purely

Cite this Entry

“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

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