highly

adverb

high·​ly ˈhī-lē 

1

: in or to a high place, level, or rank

2

: in or to a high degree or amount

3

: with approval : favorably

Synonyms

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• heavily
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• passing
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of highly in a Sentence

She is one of the most highly respected journalists in the country.

though she didn't win, she was highly satisfied with her personal results for the marathon

Recent Examples on the Web

The Marion County Health Department on Friday warned Hoosiers about a possible exposure to measles after a person infected with the highly contagious illness joined thousands of people April 8 at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis during a solar eclipse event. —The Indianapolis Star, 22 Apr. 2024

Nacua, who enjoyed a record-setting rookie season in 2023, said last week that the first week of workouts with the highly motivated Kupp were the toughest. —Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing highly

• highly strung
• highly superior autobiographical memory

Kids Definition

highly

adverb

high·​ly ˈhī-lē 

1

: very entry 2 sense 1, extremely

highly pleased

2

: with approval

speaks highly of you