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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chiefly
Martin, whose first language is Swedish, is chiefly concerned with melody.
—
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Today’s cinephiles remember Warren Beatty, age 88, chiefly for the suspense of Bonnie & Clyde (1967) but forget his intellectually demanding drama Reds (1981).
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
Max & Helen’s is chiefly inspired by Maine’s Palace Diner, which is widely noted for its elevation of comfort-food staples.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 22 Sep. 2025
This evolved into a prototype chiefly engineered by Burrell Smith, selecting for its CPU the 8-bit Motorola 6809 as an upgrade from the Apple II's MOS 6502 but still keeping costs low.
—Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chiefly
Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Today’s cinephiles remember Warren Beatty, age 88, chiefly for the suspense of Bonnie & Clyde (1967) but forget his intellectually demanding drama Reds (1981).
—Peter Bart, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
Max & Helen’s is chiefly inspired by Maine’s Palace Diner, which is widely noted for its elevation of comfort-food staples.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 22 Sep. 2025
This evolved into a prototype chiefly engineered by Burrell Smith, selecting for its CPU the 8-bit Motorola 6809 as an upgrade from the Apple II's MOS 6502 but still keeping costs low.
—Cameron Kaiser, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chiefly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chiefly
Adverb
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Injuries are mainly due to frequent jumping, cutting and landing.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
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On Thursday evening, the local government of Rio Cauto municipality reassured residents that the dam was not going to collapse or suddenly overflow and that the flooding was mainly due to the rain from Melissa.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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What Lewis is mostly in Denver to do, though, is block.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
30 Oct. 2025
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In fact, Trump’s gripes with Beijing were mostly limited to the amount of goods China purchased from the United States, and so much of his attention was spent on direct negotiations with Xi that tried to address the trade deficit.—
Mira Rapp-Hooper,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Ancelotti and Zidane certainly had their own tactical ideas, but were also pragmatic and based game plans primarily on the characteristics (strengths and weaknesses) of the squad made available to them.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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The China Room houses the collection of official state china, glassware, and silverware used by presidents, and is primarily used by the first lady for smaller receptions.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Today, the fourth and fifth generations are largely leading the philanthropic drive, but the family’s vision and values were evident throughout the 20th century.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Oct. 2025
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The Reddit community largely agreed with her.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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This crowd-pleaser doesn’t principally tell Jarrett’s story, though, but that of the promoter, Vera Brandes, who began booking musicians as a teenager and was not yet 20 at the time of Jarrett’s triumph.—
Ben Kenigsberg,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Our commerce writer Julia Harrison writes that her Moccamaster One Cup is a delight, principally because of its simplicity as a drip coffee maker—free of extraneous frothers or digital interfaces or timers.—
Blake Bakkila,
Architectural Digest,
8 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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The only exception to that limit would be along the Washington Street corridor, where predominantly residential projects could be built up to 500 feet, according to city officials.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
23 Oct. 2025
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Sharing the culture While Fleming’s classes in city classrooms and community centers with the youth are predominantly populated by Black youths, his Saturday classes are usually more diverse.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chiefly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chiefly. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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