mentally

adverb

men·​tal·​ly ˈmen-tᵊl-ē 

1

: in the mind

Mentally he promised himself that he would never again use a collar on any living creature.

—Brian Jacques

: using the mind

able to mentally calculate large sums

2

: with regard to the mind or its capacity

physically and mentally healthy people

a mentally competent adult

a mentally challenging activity

… if you try to hide the fact that you feel mentally inadequate, and so go around making jokes about your own dullness and acting as if it didn't bother you at all …

—David Foster Wallace

I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.

—Rick Riordan

Examples of mentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Sheriff’s Department typically houses mentally ill prisoners at the Twin Towers, but Magaña’s family claims he was not transferred to a specialized unit within the jail that deals with more challenging cases. — Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026

In the meantime, a judge repeatedly deemed James mentally unfit for criminal proceedings. — Idaho Statesman, 9 Oct. 2026

Innova Market Insights connects the behavior to mentally resetting, recharging energy, refocusing attention and relieving stress. — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026

Overall, people who were more physically active showed slower declines both physically and mentally. — Jennifer Fields, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mentally

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