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

• extremely
• very
• incredibly
• terribly
• too
• so
• badly
• severely
• really
• damn
• damned
• intensely
• seriously
• heavily
• most
• far

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

This suggests that the issues that may have caused both the engines to fail likely occurred at nearly the same moment— a highly unusual scenario, experts said. —Mika Gröndahl, New York Times, 28 June 2025

But the most important thing about Wellness Weekend is the opportunity to connect in the highly coveted eastern enclave of Long Island, says Saggio. —Amanda Lauren, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

The opinion in the birthright citizenship case was highly anticipated. —Npr Staff, NPR, 27 June 2025

Whether Afshar could have solved this is highly doubtful, since the problem rests heavily with Musk’s own decisions. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 June 2025

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

Rhymes for highly

• dryly
• kiley
• shyly
• slyly
• smiley
• wily
• wryly

Kids Definition

highly

adverb

high·​ly ˈhī-lē 

1

: very entry 2 sense 1, extremely

highly pleased

2

: with approval

speaks highly of you