MAINLY Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

mainly

adverb

ˈmān-lē

Definition of mainly

as in mostly

for the most part you mainly need to focus on improving your golf swing

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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 mainly The $8 trillion will be spent mainly on cars, homes, travel and retail. — Robert Frank, CNBC, 17 July 2026 Japan has a law to punish vandalizing foreign national flags, mainly those displayed at diplomatic facilities, to avoid international disputes. — ABC News, 17 July 2026 In the past, procurement was included mainly in downstream executional work related to contracts and budgets. — Michelle Douglas, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 This car is mainly painted white across its upper aerodynamic surfaces. — Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 17 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for mainly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mainly

Adverb

Iran exported roughly 50 million barrels of crude oil in June, mostly through its shadow fleet, according to an analysis by TankerTrackers.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
So far in the season, Gen has mostly landed on the wrong side of the audience’s favor.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 July 2026

Definition of mostly

Adverb

Called the Georgia Power 100, these players are chosen primarily on their high school production track record, though college potential is considered.

— Todd Holcomb, AJC.com, 20 July 2026
Rittenhouse’s research primarily deals with studying endangered and threatened bat species and impacts of land planning and management uses.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026

Definition of primarily

Adverb

The problem is Will Ferrell as Lonnie Hawkins, an utter miscalculation of characterization and performance chiefly responsible for turning what could be middling comedy into an unbearable slog.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Bouaddi was born into an aspirational family in Creil — a town of around 36,000 people in northern France, around an hour’s drive from Paris, and known chiefly as being where gangster and jailbreaker Redoine Faid is from.

— Tom Williams, New York Times, 9 July 2026

Definition of chiefly

Adverb

Their models still largely hold the lead in capabilities, as well as the hardware used to train and advance them.

— Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Hilderbrand — who’s written more than 30 books, largely set in her hometown of Nantucket — says studios started calling after HBO’s adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies became a hit in 2017.

— Clarissa Cruz, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026

Definition of largely

Adverb

In Boxtown, the predominantly Black neighborhood closest to the facility, the cancer risk already runs four times the national average.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 July 2026
Lucky’s initial escape through a casino floor is shot predominantly in midrange close-ups, with no experimentation in building tension through unexpected compositions or cuts.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 July 2026

Definition of predominantly

Adverb

Although some of these new institutions may adopt the name college, they won't be architected around classrooms and their business model won't be principally tuition-based.

— Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
The war within the Republican Party was not principally an ideological war, though.

— Louis Menand, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Definition of principally

Adverb

Most of the other people that were on American Bandstand were all those Italian dudes with great voices singing songs for girls, basically.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2026
Insider tip Rideshares are basically nonexistent out here—renting a car is definitely the move.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026

Definition of basically

Browse Nearby Words

mainlands

mainly

main man

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“Mainly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mainly. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of mainly

adverb

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