mentally

adverb

men·​tal·​ly ˈmen-tᵊl-ē 

1

: in the mind

Mentally he promised himself that he would never again use a collar on any living creature.

—Brian Jacques

: using the mind

able to mentally calculate large sums

2

: with regard to the mind or its capacity

physically and mentally healthy people

a mentally competent adult

a mentally challenging activity

… if you try to hide the fact that you feel mentally inadequate, and so go around making jokes about your own dullness and acting as if it didn't bother you at all …

—David Foster Wallace

I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.

—Rick Riordan

Examples of mentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Who’s more mentally prepared for that moment? —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2026

He was found not guilty by reason of mental illness the next year, according to the court document, and in 2020, was committed as mentally ill and dangerous to the facility. —Nick Lentz, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026

Effort feels heavier not just physically, but mentally. —Jim Diehl Cscs, Outside, 29 Mar. 2026

Keep thinking that a double in oil has historically produced a 20% decline in stocks and be mentally prepared for that. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mentally

• accidentally
• detrimentally
• fundamentally
• governmentally
• incidentally
• incrementally
• instrumentally
• sentimentally
• temperamentally
• coincidentally
• environmentally
• experimentally