nearly

adverb

near·ly | \ ˈnir-lē

Definition of nearly

1 : in a close manner or relationship nearly related

2a : almost but not quite nearly identical nearly a year later

b : to the least extent not nearly as good as we expected

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about nearly

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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

This is one serious piece of engineering: The designers went back to basics and reimagined nearly every component and mechanism of an umbrella. — Ann Lien, House Beautiful, "Here's the Last Umbrella You'll Ever Buy," 4 Apr. 2019 While the Depression halted nearly every new tower’s construction, one skyscraper kept rising. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "A Friendship Turned to Rivalry. A Feud That Changed the New York Skyline.," 27 Mar. 2019 But as is nearly always the case on Hollywood, Meghan had to bounce around a lot before landing the part of Rachel Zane. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Meghan Markle's Old Comedy Central Pilot to Be Released, Former Costar Max Greenfield Reveals," 27 Mar. 2019 Get caught without your bug spray just once and the inevitable happens: red, angry, itchy mosquito bites that take nearly superhuman willpower to avoid scratching. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Mosquito Bites and Stop Itching ASAP," 18 Mar. 2019 The charging documents detail how Singer’s scam was nearly busted a few times. — Tyler Kingkade, Town & Country, "How the College Admissions Scandal Is Different From the Other Ways Rich Parents Help Their Kids Get Into School," 13 Mar. 2019 Some of your gorgeous gardens may not look nearly as lush this year. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "Old Farmer's Almanac Predicts a Cold, Rainless Spring for Most of the Country," 5 Mar. 2019 Since its inception in 2015, the Queens Night Market has become one of the more prominent events on the New York City food scene, welcoming 10,000-plus people nearly every Saturday to its location in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. — Charles Passy, WSJ, "Queens Night Market Begins a New Chapter," 7 Mar. 2019 In our tests, this machine earned high scores at nearly every task, including kneading bread dough and shredding mozzarella cheese. — Betty Gold, Good Housekeeping, "The 7 Best Food Processors to Buy, According to Kitchen Appliance Experts," 1 Feb. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nearly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.