Adjacent Words

Nearly definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

NEARLY, adv.
1. At no great distance; not remotely.
2. Closely; as two persons nearly related or allied.
3. Intimately; pressingly; with a close relation to ones interest or happiness. It nearly concerns us to preserve peace with our neighbor.
4. Almost; within a little. The fact is nearly demonstrated.
5. In a parsimonious or niggardly manner.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone agrees" [syn: about, almost, most, nearly, near, nigh, virtually, well- nigh]
2: in a close manner; "the two phenomena are intimately connected"; "the person most nearly concerned" [syn: closely, intimately, nearly]

Merriam Webster's

adverb Date: 1561 1. in a close manner or relationship <nearly related> 2. a. almost but not quite <nearly identical> <nearly a year later> b. to the least extent <not nearly as good as we expected>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adv. 1 almost (we are nearly there). 2 closely (they are nearly related). Phrases and idioms: not nearly nothing like; far from (not nearly enough).

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Nearly Near"ly, adv. In a near manner; not remotely; closely; intimately; almost.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Nearly is used to indicate that something is not quite the case, or not completely the case. Goldsworth stared at me in silence for nearly twenty seconds... Hunter knew nearly all of this already... Several times Thorne nearly fell... I nearly had a heart attack when she told me... The beach was nearly empty... They nearly always ate outside. = almost, practically ADV: ADV group, ADV before v 2. Nearly is used to indicate that something will soon be the case. It was already nearly eight o'clock... I was nearly asleep... The voyage is nearly over... You're nearly there... I've nearly finished the words for your song. = almost ADV: ADV group, ADV before v 3. You use not nearly to emphasize that something is not the case. Father's flat in Paris wasn't nearly as grand as this... Minerals in general are not nearly so well absorbed as other nutrients... British car workers did not earn nearly enough money to buy the products they were turning out. = nowhere near PHRASE: PHR adj/adv, PHR n [emphasis]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

ad. 1. Approximately, not remotely. 2. Almost, well-nigh, within a little. 3. Closely, intimately. 4. Closely, intimately, pressingly. 5. Stingily, meanly, parsimoniously, penuriously.

Moby Thesaurus

about, all but, all in all, almost, almost entirely, approaching, approximately, around, as good as, barely, by and large, chiefly, circa, close, close to, closely, effectually, essentially, exactly, hardly, identically, in, in effect, in essence, in the main, just about, mainly, more or less, most, mostly, much, narrowly, near, nearabout, nearing, nigh, nighhand, not quite, on balance, on the whole, only just, plus ou moins, practically, precisely, pretty near, roughly, round, roundly, rudely, say, scarcely, some, somewhere, substantially, virtually, well-nigh