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 tight finish came after a first half with see-saw action — mainly by Stewart — but was marred by whistles and questionable foul calls. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026 Their influence is mainly in their hyper-jerk production, which has spawned spiritual offshoots in London, Buenos Aires, and the Dominican Republic. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026 Some areas, mainly to the south, could be as much as 20 degrees above normal, with highs in the lower 90s. — Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026 Villegas’ response mainly focused on America’s high cost of healthcare and politicians who are beholden to corporations benefiting from these prices. — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for mainly

Recent Examples of Synonyms for mainly

Adverb

And today the National Weather Service issued dozens of tornado warnings, mostly in Georgia and South Carolina.

— Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
Ticket buyers were mostly older males, a demographic that’s been slow to return to theaters since the pandemic.

— Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of mostly

Adverb

The system is primarily intended to counter small unmanned aircraft.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Their list consists primarily of interventions such as more per-pupil funding, banning cellphones and restricting artificial intelligence in the classroom.

— Gustavo E. Fischman, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of primarily

Adverb

The five original Nobel Prizes were created under the terms of Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel’s will and have been awarded since 1901, with only limited interruptions, chiefly during World War I and World War II.

— Reuters, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
The costs have been driven up chiefly by efforts to modernize pricing.

— MICHAEL PHILLIS, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of chiefly

Adverb

Advertisement France has never seen so many violent incidents in a movement made up largely of high school students.

— Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Violent crime concentrates in poor neighborhoods, and largely because of our history, Black Americans are far more likely than white Americans to live in them.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of largely

Adverb

Some predominantly Muslim neighborhoods on the city's peripheries, with narrow and steep mazelike streets, have high crime rates.

— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
After seven years of promoting local businesses in San Francisco’s predominantly Latino Mission District, the nonprofit has a brick-and-mortar space that reflects its passion for the neighborhood.

— Terry Tang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of predominantly

Adverb

That shift carries potential implications for concussion and traumatic brain injury (TBI) research, which has relied principally on federal support, particularly from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.

— Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 12 Oct. 2026
The whole city ends up bearing the brunt of astronomical housing prices that, whatever their other causes, are principally downstream from a housing market that quite simply cannot keep up with demand.

— New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of principally

Adverb

The source was generally in good condition, but mold spots and dense clusters of small white specks required careful treatment.

— Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Photos were generally limited to 2,048 pixels on the long edge, while videos could be delivered at resolutions up to 720p.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of generally

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 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of mainly

adverb

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