virtually

adverb

vir·​tu·​al·​ly ˈvər-chə-wə-lē 

-chə-lē;

ˈvərch-wə-lē

1

a

: almost entirely : nearly

The project is virtually complete.

Virtually every applicant was overqualified for the job.

b

: for all practical purposes

She was virtually unknown prior to starring in the film.

It is virtually impossible to know the truth of the matter.

2

: by means of a computer or computer network : in a virtual location

The meeting is being held virtually.

They did all their shopping virtually.

Synonyms

• about
• all but
• almost
• borderline
• fair [chiefly British]
• fairly
• feckly [chiefly Scottish]
• more or less
• most
• much
• near
• nearly
• next to
• nigh
• practically
• somewhere
• well-nigh

Examples of virtually in a Sentence

We spent virtually all day shopping.

The stadium was virtually empty by the time the game ended.

I remember virtually everything he said.

That illness is virtually unknown in this area.

Recent Examples on the Web

While snaps from Day’s time on set quickly became sacred to virtually anyone with a Tumblr account in 2011, Coppola only recently discovered a box filled with the entirety of Day’s negatives—many of them never before seen—while digging through her storage units for Archive. —Keaton Bell, Vogue, 12 Dec. 2024

The results can be powerful, virtually doubling the rate at which employees experiment with AI tools. —Tomas Gorny, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

Core inflation is expected to end next year at 3.1%, also virtually flat, Barclays predicts. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024

Their predicament remained the same in 1989, when Jim Gardner became the first Republican Lt. Governor elected in the 20th century, and the Democratic majority promptly stripped the office of virtually all power over shepherding legislation through the state Senate. —Christopher Cooper / Made By History, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1b