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 FastMove basically hands you the powers of an IT specialist without needing to be one. — Stackcommerce Team, PC Magazine, 29 July 2026 For Chinese humanoid robot companies, this basically redraws the map. — John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 That’s a good thing for Linde, whose gases are used in basically every industry, including steel, mining and healthcare. — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 26 July 2026 There’s basically no text and only a few onscreen prompts to explain controls. — Jay Peters, The Verge, 25 July 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
  • In the neighborhood, which is actually the oldest part of Prague, there are mostly residential buildings, embassies, and local offices.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Many skeptics see a contradiction in high-achieving, mostly white young voters employing rhetoric about labor and solidarity.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of mostly
Adverb
  • These were large, costly machines owned mainly by governments, universities and major corporations.
    — Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • In 2022, about 67 percent of North Bay Village voters approved a $60 million bond, mainly to raise roads, and any planning now assumes that by 2060, sea levels will have risen by two feet.
    — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026
Definition of mainly
Adverb
  • The Mutiara Sentosa 2 serves the Surabaya-Makassar route, a voyage that typically takes around 40 hours and is primarily used by domestic travelers and cargo transport between the islands of Java and Sulawesi.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Beijing in recent years has rapidly expanded mandates for schools in ethnic minority regions to adopt primarily Chinese-language education, starting from kindergarten.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of primarily
Adverb
  • While the lawn remained mostly empty, the reserved seating area was largely full.
    — Jamie Graziano, Charlotte Observer, 31 July 2026
  • That lawsuit names coho salmon, spotted owls, as well as a threatened seabird, the marbled murrelet, which lives largely out at sea but returns to old-growth coastal trees to nest, as species threatened by the change.
    — Lizzie Kane, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of largely
Adverb
  • Building a network is capital intensive, requiring continuous, steady investment in both towers and spectrum —- drawing capital away from businesses that investors more richly reward, chiefly AI.
    — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 29 July 2026
  • But Elliot’s best argument is ultimately himself—chiefly, his own vigorous libido, which his workaholic medical-student girlfriend, Minerva (a deader-than-deadpan Charli XCX), has long since lost interest in satiating.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 July 2026
Definition of chiefly
Adverb
  • This predominantly includes deceptive measures and signal disruptions as responses to intrusive drones.
    — Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
  • This boundary separated predominantly Hindu and predominantly Muslim regions.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026
Definition of predominantly
Adverb
  • Measles is highly contagious, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective, and protection generally lasts for life.
    — Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The 26-year-old suspect was identified only as a foreign national who has been granted legal asylum, in line with Greece’s strict data protection laws, which generally prohibit authorities from naming criminal suspects without their consent.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of generally
Adverb
  • Back in those early days there was talk of Newcastle winning the Premier League in the next five to 10 years, principally from the mouth of Amanda Staveley, a 10 per cent minority partner of PIF who sold her stake and left Tyneside in July 2024.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Opposition is growing in the soccer world to a plan by the sport’s governing body, FIFA, to spin off its events, principally the World Cup, as a separate commercial entity and invite investors to take a stake in it.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 29 July 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 5 Aug. 2026.

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