nearly

adverb

near·​ly ˈnir-lē 

1

: in a close manner or relationship

nearly related

2

a

: almost but not quite

nearly identical

nearly a year later

b

: to the least extent

not nearly as good as we expected

Synonyms of nearly

• closely

Examples of nearly in a Sentence

I see her nearly every day.

We lived there for nearly two years.

Nearly all of us got sick that weekend.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Athletic’s player roles analysis uses nearly 40 metrics to analyse players across Europe’s top five leagues, identifying patterns that can help to bucket those who perform similarly in their style. — Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026

Video snippets captured from two highway patrol officers’ cameras showed the man initially standing at a homeless encampment while holding a hammer and two nearly identical homemade weapons, each of them made with a knife affixed to the end of pole. — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026

Scottie Scheffler enters the playoffs as the FedEx Cup points leader, nearly 800 points ahead of second-place Matt Fitzpatrick. — Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

In the first half of this year, police reported seizing 80 tons of drugs, while in 2025 authorities confiscated nearly 215 tons, primarily cocaine. — CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing nearly

• nearly gave someone a heart attack
• not nearly
• pretty near/nearly

Rhymes for nearly

• clearly
• dearly
• merely
• queerly
• yearly
• austerely
• severely
• sincerely
• cavalierly

Kids Definition

nearly

adverb

near·​ly ˈni(ə)r-lē 

1

: in a close manner or relationship

nearly related

2

: almost but not quite

nearly the same

nearly missed the train

3

: to the least extent

not nearly enough