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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in only
nothing more than her pleasantries were purely for show and masked her true feelings

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Example 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 Judith Ivey as Bonnie and JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Maddie Townsend in episode 405 © 2025 Netflix, Inc. While some supporting characters are written off the canvas so an actor can pursue other roles, Anderson says that wasn’t the case here; Bill’s death was purely storyline dictated. Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 6 Feb. 2025 Plug-in hybrids, once considered a potential alternative to a purely electric model, remained relatively stable. Calmatters, Orange County Register, 6 Feb. 2025 Non-conference games are purely up to schools to schedule, and the Hurricanes’ scheduling agreements with teams like Florida and South Florida all have Miami playing at home this year. Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025 For now, however, Evans and Worton are purely concerned with getting the giants on their feet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 29 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for purely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purely
Adverb
  • Sibyl is another stop; this industrial-style art gallery, with six-week exhibits, solely features emerging artists.
    Jenny Adams, AFAR Media, 11 Feb. 2025
  • The company plans to finish manufacturing its remaining 15 Atlas V rockets within a few months, allowing the factory in Decatur, Alabama, to focus solely on producing Vulcan launch vehicles.
    Ars Technica, Ars Technica, 11 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • The former only need to provide their existing student information, including attendance records, grades, assessment scores, behavioral reports, and special education plans.
    Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025
  • Cartels will only be put out of business by legalizing drugs and immigration, not by declaring war on them.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • That means, of course, that they are properly authenticated and so will bypass security and spam protections.
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Putin didn’t properly calculate that Ukraine had a stronger army compared to 2014 and that the West would support Ukraine through military funding, Spechler said.
    Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Brian Hughes reiterated the administration is not exclusively communicating with Russia.
    Ahtra Elnashar, Baltimore Sun, 20 Feb. 2025
  • The new season will, however, feature Patti LuPone, as executive producer Michael Patrick King revealed exclusively to EW in January.
    EW.com, EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • The collision happened just before 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 3 at Grand Avenue and Park View Terrace, according to the Oakland Police Department.
    Jason Green, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
  • Freshman Allie Ziebell also hit just the fifth 3-pointer of the game for UConn off the bench.
    Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 20 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • And the bigger issue is that the WHO simply cannot admit its mistakes.
    Jess Craig, Vox, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Copernicus simply applied the same effect to the planets out in space.
    Joe Rao, Space.com, 17 Feb. 2025
Adverb
  • The first game was merely a barometer to inform the rest of spring.
    Cody Stavenhagen, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025
  • Joshua Fisher, a White House official, asserted in the filing that Mr. Musk was not in charge of DOGE, but merely an employee of the White House.
    Hurubie Meko, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.

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