chiefly

adverb

ˈchē-flē How to pronounce chiefly (audio)
Definition of chieflynext
as in mainly
for the most part our video collection consists chiefly of comedies, but we have a few horror movies

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 chiefly The state has been using those surpluses chiefly to build reserves and reduce the state’s hefty pension debt, which still exceeds $30 billion. — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026 Dostoyevsky’s sniveling devil comes closest to portraying the man chiefly responsible for organizing the Final Solution. — Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026 Many of these business owners are driven chiefly by a desire to be their own bosses rather than to become rich, Zwick said. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026 There, the war stoked longtime secessionist sentiments, fronted chiefly by the Southern Transitional Council -- a bloc that until 2025 held sway in the south and was backed by the United Arab Emirates. — David Brennan, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for chiefly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chiefly
  1. mainly
  2. mostly
  3. primarily
  4. largely
  5. principally
  6. predominantly
Adverb
  • What to do nearby The Algarve is mainly populated with beach resorts—and most are much larger than this one.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Reps for Busfield, who has been out on bond and mainly on the East Coast since the beginning of the year, and his main lawyer Larry Stein did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on the news.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of mainly
Adverb
  • And today the National Weather Service issued dozens of tornado warnings, mostly in Georgia and South Carolina.
    — Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Ticket buyers were mostly older males, a demographic that’s been slow to return to theaters since the pandemic.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of mostly
Adverb
  • The system is primarily intended to counter small unmanned aircraft.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Their list consists primarily of interventions such as more per-pupil funding, banning cellphones and restricting artificial intelligence in the classroom.
    — Gustavo E. Fischman, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of primarily
Adverb
  • Advertisement France has never seen so many violent incidents in a movement made up largely of high school students.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Violent crime concentrates in poor neighborhoods, and largely because of our history, Black Americans are far more likely than white Americans to live in them.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of largely
Adverb
  • That shift carries potential implications for concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI) research, which has relied principally on federal support, particularly from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The whole city ends up bearing the brunt of astronomical housing prices that, whatever their other causes, are principally downstream from a housing market that quite simply cannot keep up with demand.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of principally
Adverb
  • Some predominantly Muslim neighborhoods on the city's peripheries, with narrow and steep mazelike streets, have high crime rates.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • After seven years of promoting local businesses in San Francisco’s predominantly Latino Mission District, the nonprofit has a brick-and-mortar space that reflects its passion for the neighborhood.
    — Terry Tang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of predominantly

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Cite this Entry

“Chiefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chiefly. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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