purely

adverb

pure·​ly ˈpyu̇r-lē 

1

a

: to a full extent : totally

purely by accident

b

: wholly, exclusively

a selection based purely on merit

2

: without admixture of anything injurious or foreign

3

: simply, merely

read purely for relaxation

4

: in a chaste or innocent manner

Synonyms

• innocently
• properly
• chastely
• morally

Examples of purely in a Sentence

They met purely by accident.

a selection based purely on merit

The organization's mission, purely and simply, is to provide food to people who need it.

It was purely and simply a matter of greed.

Recent Examples on the Web

His predecessor Gary O’Neil had switched between a back three and four, but Pereira went purely with a 3-4-2-1 for the rest of the season and Wolves took 33 points from their remaining 22 games. —Liam Tharme, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2025

The baby ghost needed to be both threatening and endearing, as its tragic backstory meant it couldn’t be presented as purely terrifying. —Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025

From a purely economic point of view, this system would be suboptimal and less efficient than the global trading system was. —Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2025

Early desalination involved boiling seawater and condensing the steam, a purely thermal method that used loads of energy. —Vanessa Bates Ramirez, Scientific American, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for purely

• demurely
• maturely
• obscurely
• securely
• insecurely
• prematurely
• surely

Kids Definition

purely

adverb

pure·​ly ˈpyu̇(ə)r-lē 

1

: to the full or entire extent

2

: without the addition of anything harmful or different

3

: for no other reason than : only

done purely for fun

4

: in an innocent manner