well
noun
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Definition of well
(Entry 1 of 5)
well
verbDefinition of well (Entry 2 of 5)
well
adverb
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best\ ˈbest
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Definition of well (Entry 3 of 5)
well
interjectionDefinition of well (Entry 4 of 5)
well
adjectiveDefinition of well (Entry 5 of 5)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for well
Synonyms: Noun
cradle, font, fountain, fountainhead, origin, root, seedbed, source, spring, wellspring
Synonyms: Adverb
acceptably, adequately, all right, alright, creditably, decently, fine, good, middlingly, nicely, OK (or okay), passably, respectably, satisfactorily, serviceably, so-so, sufficiently, tolerably
Synonyms: Interjection
ah, aha, come on, fie, indeed, my word, no, pshaw, what, why
Synonyms: Adjective
able-bodied, bouncing, fit, hale, healthy, hearty, robust, sound, well-conditioned, whole, wholesome
Antonyms: Adverb
bad, badly, deficiently, ill, inadequately, insufficiently, intolerably, poorly, unacceptably, unsatisfactorily
Antonyms: Adjective
ailing, diseased, ill, sick, unfit, unhealthy, unsound, unwell
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Examples of well in a Sentence
Noun
his quirkily dysfunctional family proved to be a bottomless well of inspiration for the novelist the spot where the spring bubbles up to the surface and forms a deep wellAdverb
“How did everything go?” “It went well, thank you.” She works well under pressure. I did surprisingly well on my history test. The company is doing well. He has his own business and is doing well for himself. You got a perfect score! Well done! She sings and plays the guitar quite well. The essay is well written. He doesn't smoke or drink, and he eats well. She doesn't treat her boyfriend very well.Adjective
The children are well again. I don't feel very well. You don't look so well. I hope you get well soon. I hope all is well with you and your family.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Shale companies from Texas to North Dakota have been managing their wells to maximize short-term oil production. — Rebecca Elliott, WSJ, "Frackers, Chasing Fast Oil Output, Are on a Treadmill," 8 Apr. 2019 Hadid’s plastic pumps have emerged as trend in the last few seasons and are beloved of many a well-dressed celebrity right now. — Vogue, "Bella Hadid Takes Late ’90s Style to Dizzy New Heights," 5 Apr. 2019 Not only is this a very sweet move for Harry as a husband, the source also says it's been good for his overall health and well-being, too. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Prince Harry Reportedly Gives Up Alcohol and Caffeine in Solidarity With Meghan Markle During Her Pregnancy," 31 Dec. 2018 This involves walking around gas wells and pipeline equipment while measuring leakage. — Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, "How leaky is natural gas production? One puzzle solved," 2 Nov. 2018 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been detected in a small number of the 19 off-base wells tested so far. — Susan Montoya Bryan, The Seattle Times, "New Mexico concerned about contamination at US air base," 16 Oct. 2018 Environmental critics say the threat of a spill from these wells is no different than drilling in federal waters. — William Lajeunesse, Fox News, "California Gov. Jerry Brown a 'hypocrite' when it comes to oil drilling, critics say," 13 Sep. 2018 That idea led to the creation of the well and play space on the front of the bottle. — Jenna Rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, "We Put Beautyblender's New Bounce Liquid Foundation To The Test," 20 July 2018 Folks were hauling water from their workplaces or from agricultural wells. — Matt Simon, WIRED, "LA Is Doing Water Better Than Your City. Yes, That LA," 12 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Another Springs/Rogers/Sturken track, the song is a uptempo lament on the insatiable power of attraction in which the vocalist alternates between seductively welling her voice into one verse and then tersely recoiling into the next. — Martin Johnson, WSJ, "‘Indigo’ by Kandace Springs Review: Adding Emotion Through Precision," 6 Sep. 2018 Tucker’s tail wagged furiously, and Cawley’s eyes welled up. — Liz Kowalczyk, BostonGlobe.com, "In ICUs, a furry friend to comfort patients," 15 Mar. 2018 McCarthy said, before stopping mid-sentence and looking away for more than 30 seconds as tears welled up in his eyes. — Bill Ruthhart, chicagotribune.com, "McCarthy talks Emanuel challenge with Tribune: I want to save ‘a great American city’," 21 Mar. 2018 Immediately, the miniseries gets this story underway as tiny rabbit Fiver (Nicholas Hoult) has a prophetic vision of rabbits being chopped in half by bulldozers and fields welling with blood, bringing to mind the elevator in The Shining. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Netflix’s new Watership Down proves the beloved children’s classic was a horror story all along," 30 Dec. 2018 The idea is to work the lyrics out of you like an emotion welling up in the heart, like a situation that needs fixing, like a journey with oppression on the back end and hope on the front end. — Tyrone Beason / Columnist, The Seattle Times, "Total Experience Gospel Choir’s last days: Pat Wright built legacy with gusto of a freedom fighter," 1 Oct. 2018 Researchers believe the cyclones that the spacecraft spotted are the result of ammonia welling up from deep within the planet, creating turbulent weather even far below the upper atmosphere. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The Juno Spacecraft Reveals New Mysteries at Jupiter," 25 May 2017 As millions of people watched on live TV, the 33-year-old royal welled up just as the former Suits actress, 36, joined him at the altar, and he was seen wiping away the touching tears. — Nick Maslow, PEOPLE.com, "Prince Harry Bit His Lip at His Wedding to Meghan Markle — and the Internet Is Hilariously 'Mad'," 21 May 2018 Every now and then, a moment will arise where the enormity of it all sits on my shoulders and then wells up inside. — Christopher Wallenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "On Broadway, feeling love for Donna Summer," 19 Apr. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
Of course, Ariana very well could have been referencing Victoria, who went on tour in the summer of 2013. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice's Alleged Feud And Where It All Began," 16 Apr. 2019 In their latest Instagram post, the royals discussed the success of the social media campaign, #GlobalSussexBabyShower, and the charities benefiting from donations made by well-wishers around the world. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Is Meghan Markle Writing Her Own Instagram Posts? One Royal Reporter Seems to Think so," 15 Apr. 2019 But now the demands of the role are full-time, unendingly public, and open to endless scrutiny, as Melania Trump knows very well. — Michelle Garcia, Glamour, "The First Lady Has a Huge Job. It’s Time She Had a Salary to Match," 3 Apr. 2019 Two of those products are formulated to address an issue that anyone with touching thighs knows all too well: chafing. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Loey Lane's New Brand Love AnyBody Launches Affordable Body-Care Products at Target," 4 Apr. 2019 Video: Clément Bürge The newest enticement in the crypto world is something traditional investors know very well: interest payments. — Paul Vigna, WSJ, "Coinbase’s New Customer Incentive: Interest Payments, With a Crypto Twist," 29 Mar. 2019 Gaming platforms where the players are mostly children might be policed as well. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "Intel hopes to clean up toxic speech in game chat with AI and machine learning," 20 Mar. 2019 While Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists is his first role in the US, Chris is pretty well known back in the UK. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Meet the Cast and Characters of "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists"," 14 Mar. 2019 Beto ultimately did well at the ballot box with black voters, a key litmus test for 2020 candidates. — Lucy Diavolo, Teen Vogue, "Beto O'Rourke Officially Announced His 2020 Presidential Campaign," 14 Mar. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Interjection
Having a good, well-rounded family emergency plan and some basic emergency supplies in place can put your mind at ease and go a long way to making the aftermath of an unexpected event more bearable. — Rebecca Mcbane, South Florida Parenting, "Don't Wait for the Storm: The most important step in a Family Emergency Plan is to make one," 30 Aug. 2017 If such practices made going about the activities of daily life terrifying for Arpaio’s Latino constituents (especially the undocumented ones), well, that was the point. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Sheriff Joe’ and Everyday American Authoritarianism," 30 Aug. 2017 Well, the knock-it-off suggestion is a good place to start. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, "7 Signs You're Dealing With a Passive-Aggressive Person," 30 Aug. 2017 If the 10 pilot subjects tolerate the treatment well and no safety issues arise— seizures are the primary concern—Steele’s group will launch a double-blind phase II trial with 60 cocaine users. — Meredith Wadman, Science | AAAS, "Brain-altering magnetic pulses could zap cocaine addiction," 29 Aug. 2017 Well, the good people there need to do more to stop the evil their state pushes. — Ramsey Touchberry, USA TODAY College, "Instructor calls Harvey 'karma' for Texas Republicans. University fires him.," 29 Aug. 2017 Well, convicting someone of contempt is the one and only way the judicial branch can put muscle behind its decisions. — Nardine Saad, latimes.com, "Trevor Noah says Trump's pardon of Sheriff Arpaio renders courts powerless," 29 Aug. 2017 September's about to be lit (well, as lit as classic Disney films can get). — Lindsey Lanquist, SELF, "Everything Coming to Netflix in September 2017," 23 Aug. 2017 Synthetic strings, for example, may not have been this capable of producing actual emotion, since, well, the early-’80s that Granduciel so often references. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "The Classic-Rock Ecstasy of The War on Drugs," 23 Aug. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
If playwrights and moviemakers can provide answers, then thank goodness, because the world knows all too well that reality, unlike fiction, can bite. — Bethany Mclean, Town & Country, "This New Play The Lehman Trilogy Turns the Financial Crisis Into High Art," 29 Mar. 2019 While the series was well-received and quickly earned a second-season renewal, the production fell apart shortly thereafter. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "American Gods season 2 finally has a release date," 5 Dec. 2018 There was obvious incentive for both player and team to get a deal done here after how well things went for Redick and the Sixers last season. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "Grades: Sharpshooter J.J. Redick Returns to the Rising Sixers," 2 July 2018 Total sticker price for our well-equipped and luxurious four-wheel-drive QX80 was $84,660, including freight. — star-telegram, "Infiniti QX80 full-size luxury SUV brings elegance, technology to the family hauler," 30 June 2018 Before deleting his Instagram page, Pete posted a note that shocked fans and had others worrying about his well being. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Ariana Grande Tried to Check In With Pete Davidson After He Posts Alarming Note on Instagram," 17 Dec. 2018 Pacific Drilling, which began operating in 2006 and went public in 2011, specializes in ultra-deepwater and complex well construction services. — Tom Corrigan, WSJ, "Pacific Drilling Lines Up $85 Million in New Bankruptcy Financing," 29 Aug. 2018 Patrons were afraid of their well being and safety. — courant.com, "Mary Crescimanno," 17 Feb. 2018 Even in his last moments, his sense of humor was there as was his concern for his family and their well being. — Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 5/5," 5 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'well.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Learn More about well
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
Can You 'Feel Good'?
Can You 'Feel Good'?
We certainly hope so.
Yes, 'Welp' Is a Real Word
Yes, 'Welp' Is a Real Word
'Welp' is over 70 years old
Statistics for well
Last Updated
21 Apr 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for well
The first known use of well was before the 12th century
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More Definitions for well
well
noun
English Language Learners Definition of well
(Entry 1 of 5)
well
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of well (Entry 2 of 5)
well
adverbEnglish Language Learners Definition of well (Entry 3 of 5)
well
interjectionEnglish Language Learners Definition of well (Entry 4 of 5)
well
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of well (Entry 5 of 5)
See the full definition for well in the English Language Learners Dictionary
well
adverb
\
Kids Definition of well
(Entry 1 of 5)
well
interjectionKids Definition of well (Entry 2 of 5)
well
nounKids Definition of well (Entry 3 of 5)
well
adjectiveKids Definition of well (Entry 4 of 5)
well
verbKids Definition of well (Entry 5 of 5)
well
adjective
\
Medical Definition of well
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