Synonyms of primarily

primarily

adverb

prī-ˈmer-ə-lē 

1

as in originally

in the beginning

the university was primarily an agricultural college when it was founded over two centuries ago

Synonyms & Similar Words

• originally
• initially
• at first
• to start with
• firstly
• incipiently
• primitively

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• finally
• ultimately
• lastly

2

as in mainly

for the most part

ketchup is primarily made from tomatoes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• mainly
• mostly
• chiefly
• predominantly
• largely
• principally
• basically
• generally
• substantially
• usually
• normally
• typically
• partly
• in general
• commonly
• most
• on the whole
• partially
• practically
• by and large
• altogether
• overall
• broadly
• virtually
• frequently
• nearly
• approximately
• somewhat
• roughly
• ordinarily
• rather
• more or less
• much
• some
• next to
• about
• plus or minus
• well-nigh
• nigh
• near
• incompletely

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• entirely
• wholly
• fully
• completely
• perfectly
• totally
• thoroughly
• just
• hardly
• barely
• scarcely
• minimally
• absolutely
• marginally
• categorically
• unqualifiedly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of primarily

Cohen celebrated the $596 billion in total revenue California collected primarily from personal income taxes during fiscal year 2024-25. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 13 May 2026

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Elon Musk's courtroom battle with Sam Altman over the last couple weeks has primarily revolved around the evolution of OpenAI. —Jordan Novet, CNBC, 13 May 2026

The other candidates, Street and Woodard, each have over a decade of experience as attorneys, with Woodard having 26-plus years, primarily in private practice. —Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 13 May 2026

Credit Karma primarily focuses on credit monitoring and financial product recommendations, with only some budgeting features. —Deane Biermeier, USA Today, 13 May 2026