purely

adverb

pure·ly | \ˈpyu̇r-lē

\

Definition of purely

1a : 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

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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

But purely from a basketball perspective, Robinson would have to defend one of those big guys. — Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press, "Who wins if Detroit Pistons, Michigan, MSU created localBig3 league?," 11 July 2018 The Oranges and Whisky Example Hinman’s speech nixed the notion that tokens that have a utility (as opposed to being purely speculative) are not securities. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "The SEC's Big Cryptocurrency Speech: 5 Things to Know," 15 June 2018 Trek said any damages sought were purely speculative. — CBS News, "Chris Farley's family sues Trek over name of fat-tired bikes," 6 June 2018 But Gunn stressed that opining on potential bond-rating impacts is purely speculative at this point. — Beau Evans, NOLA.com, "Sewerage & Water Board poised to seek risky audit extension," 5 June 2018 Well, a poll conducted by a Jesuit research group found a whopping 83 percent of Hondurans were considering migrating to the United States were motivated by purely economic reasons. — Fox News, "Candace Owens on challenging liberal orthodoxy," 26 Apr. 2018 Five of the six men were soldiers, and Britain’s Defense Ministry said that their trip was purely for sport, according to a BBC report. — Mike Ives, New York Times, "5 Cave Rescues That Worked: Thailand Can Find Hope in Past Success," 3 July 2018 The game is a sort of simplified version of football, and is purely an Anglo-Saxon sport, like curling or handball. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "We may be champions now, but ice hockey got off to a rough start in Washington," 11 June 2018 This question about presidential indictment is not purely theoretical. — Carolyn Shapiro, Fortune, "Brett Kavanaugh Said Judges Should Just Follow the Law. Here’s Why That’s Bull," 10 July 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near purely

pure minor scale

Statistics for purely

Last Updated

8 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for purely

The first known use of purely was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for purely

purely

adverb

English Language Learners Definition of purely

: completely or only

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