highly

adverb

high·​ly ˈhī-lē 

1

: in or to a high place, level, or rank

2

: in or to a high degree or amount

3

: with approval : favorably

Synonyms

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• heavily
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• passing
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of highly in a Sentence

She is one of the most highly respected journalists in the country.

though she didn't win, she was highly satisfied with her personal results for the marathon

Recent Examples on the Web

For a generation of music-and-fashion obsessives, Williams, 52, is revered as the original hip-hop eccentric: highly expressive, unapologetically audacious, unafraid to flout menswear conventions, especially the hypermasculine tropes ascribed to rap music. —Chioma Nnadi, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025

In a highly unusual twist, the medical contractor involved, Armor Correctional Health Services, was also criminally prosecuted, successfully, on seven counts of intentionally falsifying medical records and one count of abusing or neglecting a resident in a penal institution. —Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025

There has never been an objection to describing this highly brutal, murderous conduct in words, nor did anyone object to this office when such crime scene images were recently shown on a Netflix documentary. —Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 14 Apr. 2025

Investments focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors tend to favor companies that score highly on certain criteria, such as climate change, human rights or corporate transparency. —Sam Meredith, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing highly

• highly strung
• highly superior autobiographical memory

Rhymes for highly

• dryly
• kiley
• shyly
• slyly
• smiley
• wily
• wryly

Kids Definition

highly

adverb

high·​ly ˈhī-lē 

1

: very entry 2 sense 1, extremely

highly pleased

2

: with approval

speaks highly of you