1
as in innocently
with purity of thought and deed the devout girl vowed to live her life purely and in the service of God

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2
as in solely
for nothing other than I fish purely for the fun of it—I don't care if I end up with no fish to fry

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3
as in only
nothing more than her pleasantries were purely for show and masked her true feelings

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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 purely OpenAI is currently completely controlled by its nonprofit board, which is purely answerable to the company’s founding mission: ensuring that AI benefits all of humanity. Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 20 June 2025 Dante Fabbro Based purely on his top comp, there might not be a free agent more interesting than Dante Fabbro. Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 18 June 2025 Everyone in the movie was evaluated purely based on their salaries—the movie is titled Materialists. Barry Levitt, Time, 18 June 2025 Most purchases aren’t made through a purely logical process but are influenced by how customers feel in the moment—whether a price excites them, creates hesitation or triggers an impulse buy. Anton Timashev, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for purely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purely
Adverb
  • All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium.
    Tony Zhang, CNBC, 25 June 2025
  • The Iranian people look neither to the past nor the current status quo but forward—to a free and democratic future, where legitimacy derives solely from the ballot box.
    Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 25 June 2025
Adverb
  • Having only scored one openplay goal in his last ten games and flirted on the periphery of matches, the equation of how to integrate Haaland with a new cast of fluid attackers still had to be solved.
    Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 27 June 2025
  • Zuckerberg famously earns only $1 as CEO at Meta, although the company provides him a $14 million allowance for costs related to security for Zuckerberg and his family.
    Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 27 June 2025
Adverb
  • One is simply that, while the probability of properly reprogramming at least one of the sites is high, reprogramming all seven is considerably more challenging.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 23 June 2025
  • According to the lawsuit, the baby did not properly descend during labor—likely due to shoulder dystocia, a complication that occurs when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone.
    Melissa Noel, Essence, 23 June 2025
Adverb
  • This system’s famous bottom-layer, Iron Dome, is primarily (but not exclusively) optimized for interception of cheap, short-range artillery rockets and drones launched by Hamas and Hezbollah.
    Sebastien Roblin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • The brand products are launching exclusively at Oh My Cream online, followed by Firn’s digital platform in September and in its own stores, beginning with two in Paris, in November.
    Jennifer Weil, Footwear News, 1 July 2025
Adverb
  • Either way, there’s no wrong answer—just the one that suits your next adventure best.
    Jill Schildhouse, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • The plea comes just weeks before Kohberger's trial was set to begin.
    Kayna Whitworth, ABC News, 1 July 2025
Adverb
  • These heavy-duty products are designed for individuals who need additional sweat and odor protection, whether due to hyperhidrosis, a demanding lifestyle, postpartum hormonal changes, or simply genetics.
    Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 29 June 2025
  • No, the cheat code is simply to make picks at high volume.
    Thomas Drance, New York Times, 29 June 2025
Adverb
  • And, without a control group (no kombucha over those eight weeks), the study merely compares different weight cohorts.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 June 2025
  • The court here declined to look at the issue as merely being one of whether an Anti-SLAPP law should apply in federal court or not.
    Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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