mentally

adverb

men·​tal·​ly ˈmen-tᵊl-ē 

1

: in the mind

Mentally he promised himself that he would never again use a collar on any living creature.

—Brian Jacques

: using the mind

able to mentally calculate large sums

2

: with regard to the mind or its capacity

physically and mentally healthy people

a mentally competent adult

a mentally challenging activity

… if you try to hide the fact that you feel mentally inadequate, and so go around making jokes about your own dullness and acting as if it didn't bother you at all …

—David Foster Wallace

I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.

—Rick Riordan

Examples of mentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The narrative starts immediately after the encounter and charts her harrowing fight to get past it, physically and mentally, putting any of my own struggles into a sobering perspective. — The Know, Denver Post, 9 Aug. 2026

Yet despite all this effort, many high achievers report feeling mentally exhausted, creatively depleted and less productive than ever. — Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026

The study doesn’t prove that mentally stimulating activities protect the brain, but the findings fit with a growing body of research suggesting that cognitive engagement helps reduce the risk of dementia. — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026

Kaufman works quickly, and is often mentally onto the next project before a film even premieres. — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 8 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mentally

• accidentally
• detrimentally
• fundamentally
• governmentally
• incidentally
• incrementally
• instrumentally
• sentimentally
• temperamentally
• coincidentally
• environmentally
• experimentally