LATELY Synonyms: 20 Similar and Opposite Words

lately

adverb

ˈlāt-lē

Definition of lately

as in recently

not long ago have you been listening to the radio much lately?

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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 lately Amid the uncertainty, children have been going to their court hearings without legal representation lately, according to advocates. — Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026 Artificial intelligence developers have borrowed the word to describe boiling down a big AI model into a smaller one—and lately the biggest AI companies say that rivals have been distilling like bootleggers. — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 7 Oct. 2026 To English leftist folkies, lately stirred by Bertrand Russell and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the lyric, coming from Dylan, would cut through the anti-Americanism not uncommon in their midst. — Sean Wilentz, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026 If the household has a stronger funk lately, the culprit may be sitting in the pantry, not the laundry basket. — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lately

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lately

Adverb

Roan recently headlined Rodrigo’s inaugural Daisy Chain Fields Festival, and appeared on Rolling Stone‘s digital cover celebrating the occasion.

— Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026
Aurelius Systems recently mounted its Archimedes autonomous laser weapon on an American Rheinmetall unmanned ground vehicle at AUSA 2026.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of recently

Adverb

But when Regan and his union, SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, called the academics sometime late last summer, suggesting a ballot measure that couldn’t be vetoed by the governor, the academics saw a new opening.

— Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026
But Jesse Minter took Tyler Huntley into Atlanta and came away with an overtime win, even after the Ravens looked headed for a loss late in the fourth quarter.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of late

Adverb

One of the newly unemployed is Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller), a fledgling lawyer who recently moved to California to get away from her hovering, hyper-religious parents.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
And more people are entering the system than leaving it, delaying help for newly homeless families.

— Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of newly

Adverb

The deficit, which will now be added to the growing national debt, was 12 percent higher than the year before, with Republicans--who used to be deficit scolds--controlling the executive and legislative branches.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
On Friday evening, ABC News republished a new version of the story re-reported by Charalambous, now without a byline.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of now

Adverb

The questions came after Zacharia made a brief debut to the media on Tuesday, taking just three questions from reporters after reading off a script.

— Michael Birnbaum The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
Genetic comparisons revealed that deep-sea viral communities in the region are almost entirely unique, with just 4 percent of their protein clusters matching global databases.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of just

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latecomers

lately

latencies

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“Lately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lately. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lately

adverb

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