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"So you think the system is outdated?"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

Vocal experts advise against singing too much or straining to talk in loud environments — precisely what is asked of a touring musician doing preshow interviews, nightly sets and post-show conversations with fans at the merch table. —Dessa Dessa Tanya Pérez Alec K. Redfearn, New York Times, 12 June 2024

The Biden administration recently promulgated a rule that protects career government workers from being reclassified as at-will employees, precisely to thwart Trump’s plans to summarily dismiss tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of federal workers. —Jon D. Michaels, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024

The prequel series takes place almost 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and precisely 172 years before the birth of the pivotal character, Daenerys Targaryen. —Moises Mendez Ii, TIME, 10 June 2024

Indeed, the degrees of freedom, or independent variables, that capture the behavior of these systems at microscopic and macroscopic scales have precisely the relationship that the theory predicts. —Quanta Magazine, 10 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1