basically

adverb

ˈbā-si-k(ə-)lē How to pronounce basically (audio)
Definition of basicallynext
as in mostly
for the most part your answer is basically correct

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of basically The illusion of molten steel was basically water and mineral oil mixed with a little powdered sugar; creative lighting and heaters placed below the cameras—plus a few CGI sparks in the background—did the rest. — ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026 The installation basically turned gym equipment into instruments. — Jesse Kirshbaum, SPIN, 28 Aug. 2026 That’s basically the ultimate message from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s keynote address during the annual Jackson Hole conference, the international get-together of the world’s central banks. — Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026 So basically, Trump wants to keep Canada around as a tradwife. — Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for basically
Recent Examples of Synonyms for basically
  1. mostly
  2. mainly
  3. primarily
  4. largely
  5. chiefly
  6. predominantly
  7. generally
  8. principally
Adverb
  • Details of the contract have been mostly kept secret, as both companies said the agreement contained confidential business information.
    — Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Decades later, buses helped desegregate schools, hauling Black and white children across the country’s racial divide, a controversial practice that has mostly ended.
    — Jeff McMurray, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of mostly
Adverb
  • Done with a cheek swab, blood draw or saliva sample, this testing mainly looks at liver enzymes that affect how the body metabolizes medicines.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
  • It’s mainly centered on Billie, who is worried about an old Facebook post standing in the way of finding a job.
    — Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of mainly
Adverb
  • Summary The Toronto Blue Jays are struggling to meet high expectations this season, primarily due to the unexpected offensive slump of star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Diamondback Energy Mehta is also bullish on Diamondback Energy, an independent oil and natural gas company focused on energy reserves that are primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas.
    — TipRanks.com Staff, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of primarily
Adverb
  • In the beginning, the team largely focused on fatal drunk-driving cases, Cherney said.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, Texas is moving away from a system that based special education funding largely on where and how students received services.
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of largely
Adverb
  • Many of the dozens missing in its environs were foreign nationals, chiefly Indian or Indian-origin pilgrims who were returning from, or preparing to make, the journey further into Tibet to Mount Kailash, a holy site for Hindus and Buddhists.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Today, other drugs are more often deployed, chiefly benzodiazepines or the benzodiazepine Clonazepam, which also render a person zombie-like and more reliably submissive.
    — Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of chiefly
Adverb
  • Two years later, Wong became one of the key leaders of the city’s Umbrella Movement protests that rallied thousands of predominantly young people to the streets to call for greater democracy by blocking major thoroughfares for 79 straight days.
    — Chris Lau, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
  • If the night had ended after that soaring anthem, few in the heavily female and predominantly middle-aged crowd could have complained.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of predominantly
Adverb
  • Kristen Fisher said families generally were told simply that there were some staffing changes at the facility.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Thematic methodologies have been one of the downfalls of contemporary museology (and art history) generally, a crisis of collective memory and the historical imagination overall.
    — George Baker, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of generally
Adverb
  • This rising use of AI has principally been spurred by the evolving advances and widespread adoption of generative AI and LLMs such as ChatGPT, GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and others.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Massachusetts should examine whether programs operating under the banner of victim services remain principally accountable to victims.
    — Laurie Myers, Boston Herald, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of principally

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Cite this Entry

“Basically.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/basically. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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