fundamentally

adverb

fun·​da·​men·​tal·​ly ˌfən-də-ˈmen-tᵊl-ē 

: with regard to what is basic, essential, or fundamental : at a fundamental level

a fundamentally honest person

a fundamentally new/different approach

Most theories of the internal structure of Venus begin with the assumption that the planet is fundamentally similar to the earth …

—Andrew and Louise Young

: in a basic or fundamental manner

This "disposable" work force is the most important trend in business today, and it is fundamentally changing the relationship between Americans and their jobs.

—Janice Castro

Examples of fundamentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hal Brands, a US foreign policy expert, writes that great-power competition is fundamentally about technology. —semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2025

In Long’s mind, the lineup is fundamentally different from this time a season ago. —Matt Gelb, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025

Chasing the dream — and the visa The H-1B visa fundamentally shaped her career path, Qian said. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 1 Oct. 2025

Advertisement Attacks on academia are fundamentally about remaking the labor practices that define higher education. —Time, 1 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fundamentally

• accidentally
• detrimentally
• governmentally
• incidentally
• incrementally
• instrumentally
• sentimentally
• temperamentally
• coincidentally
• environmentally
• experimentally
• mentally