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 lone scoring drive in the first half for the Lions featured 17 plays and nearly 8 minutes ticked off the clock. —Cody Thorn, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Nov. 2025

San Francisco received nearly an inch and a half of rain Thursday, nearly 75% of November’s average. —Taylor Ward, CNN Money, 14 Nov. 2025

Since 2014, there have been nearly two dozen violent extremist attacks in Canada resulting in 29 deaths and at least 60 injuries, according to Rogers. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 14 Nov. 2025

As if the numbers couldn’t get any more impressive, nearly a third of Aston Martin’s fans are women; a demographic accelerating faster than the cars and one that the team are unpatronizingly and actively pursuing. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 13 Nov. 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