PRIMARILY Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

primarily

adverb

prī-ˈmer-ə-lē

Definition of primarily

as in originally

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in mainly

for the most part ketchup is primarily made from tomatoes

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 primarily Health officials are continuing to search for the source of the outbreak, which has primarily affected the Carnegie Hill and Yorkville neighborhoods. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 19 July 2026 The airport is used primarily by private and corporate aircraft. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 July 2026 Brensley’s campaign tasked Bronske with collecting signatures primarily on the South Shore and Metro South areas, including Weymouth, Hanover, Braintree, Rockland and Easton. — Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 19 July 2026 Cardinals, wrens, mockingbirds, and bluebirds primarily want a safe place to drink and splash around to clean their feathers. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for primarily

Recent Examples of Synonyms for primarily

Adverb

Impact fees were originally created to help local governments offset the effects of new development.

— John Ramos, CBS News, 14 July 2026
The model is built from scratch for physical-world tasks instead of adapting video generation models originally designed for digital content creation.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026

Definition of originally

Adverb

Before that, much like Argentina, La Roja had relied on some late goals to get through the latter stages – mainly from Mikel Merino, who struck the winner in both the Round of 16 and quarterfinal after coming on as a late substitute.

— Ben Church, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
While the area was formerly covered by prehistoric lakes, today the water here mainly exists as seasonal wetlands, gurgling geysers, hot springs, and a hypersaline lake that’s saltier than the ocean.

— Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2026

Definition of mainly

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

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

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

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

Browse Nearby Words

primal

primarily

primary

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Style

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

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Synonyms of primarily

adverb

Example Sentences

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