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 Saint Laurent reaffirmed the power of a highly recognizable vision. — Madeleine Schulz, Vogue, 14 Oct. 2026 And a few are very highly specific, such as the protease that activates insulin, which only cuts near a very specific series of amino acids. — ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026 Brora single malt has become highly collectible over the years due to its quality and limited availability, so the inclusion of this whisky in a blend is always a moment of which to take note. — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 14 Oct. 2026 Originally developed for highly active military users, Alpha uses an open structure that balances insulation with airflow as activity levels change. — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for highly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for highly

Adverb

Experts attribute the extremely warm ocean temperatures that fueled Rachel, which peaked as a Category 3 hurricane, in part to El Niño.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
All this makes the Home app very easy to use, but extremely underpowered.

— Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of extremely

Adverb

The harder question is whether benefiting so greatly from that foundation creates some responsibility to leave it stronger for whoever comes next.

— Linda K. Brown Stroh, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026
Johnson, meanwhile, has improved greatly since a rough Week 1 performance in which the Las Vegas Raiders seemingly picked on the rookie.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of greatly

Adverb

One of the other things that Claude noticed was that these array of associated reverse transcriptases seem to be isolated to jumbo phages, which have very large genomes for bacteriophage.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
There’s very few cases where a fan actually gets to stand beside the man and add onto the man’s legacy.

— Christine Imarenezor, VIBE.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of very

Adverb

Rather than eliding them, Carson ends up bringing attention to these absences – an utterly distinctive choice.

— Amy Cannon, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
But the quality remains extremely uneven—mathematicians are finding some papers readable and others utterly nonsensical.

— Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of utterly

Adverb

Indeed, the diamond was quite an exquisite addition, considering that such gemstones over 10 carats are incredibly rare.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
For now, this perfect mix of burgeoning youth and senior leadership has come together to create an incredibly deep team with big dreams.

— Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of incredibly

Adverb

Another issue is that AI detectors are still not terribly reliable, which Vara addresses in her piece, citing a number of studies to bolster the credentials of Pangram.

— James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Probably nothing too terribly bad, especially since Denver has done it without much offensive consistency.

— Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of terribly

Adverb

What transpired in-between the curtain raiser and final pose was much like what had gone down the previous night in Cincinnati, at the first public gig the Beach Boys had done since canceling a slew of dates beginning in July.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
No state Supreme Court contest is expected to cost even close to that much this year, because no single seat is perceived as that essential to control a court.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026