precisely

adverb

pre·​cise·​ly pri-ˈsīs-lē 

1

: in a precise manner : exactly

weighing ingredients precisely

This incremental adjustment is continued until the bubble is precisely centered.

—Barry F. Kavanagh

—often used to emphasize the precision of something (such as a measurement, time, description, etc.)

The sample weighed precisely 6 ounces.

We arrived at precisely two o'clock.

She always knows precisely what to do.

He was popular precisely because he was so kind.

She always woke at eight precisely.

—P. G. Wodehouse

It is precisely to counter this sort of "negative advertising" that the garbage industry has lately been working hard to change its image.

—Elizabeth Royte

2

: quite so

—used to confirm emphatically that what has been said or suggested is exactly correct

"So you think the system is outdated?" "Precisely."

Synonyms

• due
• exactly
• full
• just
• right
• sharp
• smack-dab
• squarely

Examples of precisely in a Sentence

I feel precisely the same way as you do.

measured the length of the board precisely

Recent Examples on the Web

That's precisely the purpose of Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable AI PC—yes, rollable. —Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 7 Jan. 2025

What will happen in The Last of Us Season 2? While details of precisely what will happen are being kept under wraps, the video game The Last of Us 2 takes place four years after the original and follows Ellie on a revenge quest through Seattle. —Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025

Like all Loewe bags, the Puzzle is handcrafted in Madrid, with approximately nine pieces of leather precisely patchworked together. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 6 Jan. 2025

This is precisely what President Trump did in May of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. —Omer Awan, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1