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 of highly

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

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

Jacob Fatu and Cody Rhodes were involved in a highly personal, heated conversation backstage. —Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026

This archetype has been around as long as storytelling itself, but it’s actually made up of several highly differentiated sub-archetypes. —Literary Hub, 23 Jan. 2026

There are also several billion dollars worth of expenses and network operational efficiencies that should make this deal highly accretive to earnings per share. —CNBC, 23 Jan. 2026

The incident exposed highly sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers and driver's license details, belonging to hundreds of thousands of people. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Jan. 2026

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