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

• 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 Dodgers, with their nearly $400 million roster, may soon need to pull a kid out of the stands, Henry Rowengartner-style, and put him on the mound. —and Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 21 June 2025

Sadly, that night will feature a bright sky bleached by a nearly full moon. —Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025

Entire cities and towns—Rafah, Khan Younis, Jabalia—have been flattened, or nearly so. —David Remnick, New Yorker, 21 June 2025

Kurtz’s homer on Thursday was a 105-mph, 416-foot bomb, but even that was outclassed by the nearly 112-mph moonshot that gave the Astros the 3-1 loss on Monday. —Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 21 June 2025

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