HIGHLY Synonyms: 158 Similar and Opposite Words

highly

adverb

ˈhī-lē

Definition of highly

as in extremely

to a great degree though she didn't win, she was highly satisfied with her personal results for the marathon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in greatly

to a large extent or degree that is highly different from your first idea for a family vacation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 highly This emphasis on local determination is highly valued in American probate history. — Eric Wargotz, Baltimore Sun, 3 Nov. 2026 Voters will head to the polls Tuesday after highly contentious campaigns across the country and in Connecticut with battles for governor, Congress, and statewide offices. — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 3 Nov. 2026 Many legal experts, as well as the European Commission and the EU's top court, agree that reforms to the justice system introduced by PiS while in power were highly problematic. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026 But before Datlof’s home was done, in 1978, federal prosecutors had charged the two men with dealing in highly addictive amphetamines, pulling in around 145,000 customers in four years, according to reports on the charges. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 3 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for highly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for highly

Adverb

How Cube Steak Is Used and Cooked Cube steak is extremely versatile.

— Natalia Vela, Southern Living, 3 Nov. 2026
California has gotten extremely soft on accountability with youth.

— Richard Ramos, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of extremely

Adverb

The timeline of symptoms was greatly dependent on the location of the wound through which the virus had been introduced.

— Téa Obreht, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
Information will continue to be shared on a timely basis, and your patience, as always, is greatly appreciated.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of greatly

Adverb

The brothers returned to Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center on Tuesday, a little more than a year since their last concert there and on a very big election night for the country.

— Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 4 Nov. 2026
On November 2, robot dogs – and other kinds of machines built for locomotion of some kind – took part in the very first World Robot Mount Taishan Climbing Competition in Tai'an, in China's Shandong province.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of very

Adverb

Comparing the administration's fight to protect women and women's spaces from males to rape, is utterly disgusting and actually devalues those atrocities and crimes against actual women.

— Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Humanity has become an Earth-System force in the most utterly literal way—by moving a lot of earth.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of utterly

Adverb

Still, Nowinski is worried the Guardian Cap is giving parents and athletes a false sense of security that the game has been made considerably safer.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026
This is considerably smaller than supermassive black holes that dominate the hearts of all modern galaxies with masses millions to billions of times the mass of our star.

— Robert Lea, Space.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of considerably

Adverb

The North Carolina state legislator Jennifer Balkcom wasn’t terribly well-known before this election cycle.

— Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026
By focusing on the brain’s extraordinary—and still under-recognized—capacity for repair, Swain doesn’t encourage us to marvel at the many ways in which things can go terribly wrong.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026