dearly

adverb

dear·​ly ˈdir-lē 

1

: with affection : fondly

2

: heartily, earnestly

prayed so dearly for peace

3

: at a high rate or price

paid dearly for the error

Examples of dearly in a Sentence

I would dearly love to see them again.

He dearly wanted to believe that it was true.

Recent Examples on the Web

Our steelmakers thrived, but companies that make things out of steel (like Ford, GM and Caterpillar) suffered dearly. —David Pogue, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2024

So cell biologists would dearly like to have a way to study the entire structure of a cell in one take, without killing it off in the process. —The Physics Arxiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024

His misses have cost the Ravens dearly in two recent losses to likely playoff participants. —Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 2 Dec. 2024

But there’s a growing feeling among Democratic lawmakers that the Biden administration completely mismanaged the huge surge of migrants across the southern border and that this also hurt their party dearly. —Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 29 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dearly

• cost (someone) dearly/dear
• pay dearly