CHIEFLY Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

chiefly

adverb

ˈchē-flē

Definition of chiefly

as in mainly

for the most part our video collection consists chiefly of comedies, but we have a few horror movies

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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 chiefly The complaint says Salle’s 2025 painting shares the works’ pose, perspective, clothing, and overall visual impression, differing chiefly in that its subject holds an axe instead of a sledgehammer. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 8 July 2026 The Castro family has been linked, through GAESA chiefly, to a lucrative world of hotels, banks, retail monopolies, foreign-currency businesses, foreign private compounds and offshore accounts. — Romina Ruiz-Goiriena, USA Today, 6 July 2026 Advertisement Sea Rangers restore seagrass chiefly in the Dutch Eastern Scheldt and French Étang de Berre. — Richard Morgan, Time, 29 June 2026 Some industrials are going higher, chiefly non-data-center ones. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for chiefly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chiefly

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

Hughes’ fall on this list mostly stems from major growth from others above him and the lack of term left on his deal.

— Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 22 July 2026
That case focused mostly on the details of the knife attack itself; the federal one delves more into questions of motive.

— ABC News, ABC News, 22 July 2026

Definition of mostly

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

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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chief justices

chiefly

chiefs

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“Chiefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chiefly. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of chiefly

adverb

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