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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of purely
Caught by the wrong antenna The discovery of the signal happened purely by chance.
—
Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
Turns out that lead exposure isn’t a purely modern problem caused by industrial pollution.
—New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2025
Unlike the clans, which are motivated purely by power and profit, the PIJ claims revolutionary credentials and has an organizational structure that has survived decades Israeli operations.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Instead, the dry-ice process offers a purely physical, water-free explanation — proof that Mars can still reshape itself today, even without rivers or rainfall.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purely
Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 17 Oct. 2025
Turns out that lead exposure isn’t a purely modern problem caused by industrial pollution.
—New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2025
Unlike the clans, which are motivated purely by power and profit, the PIJ claims revolutionary credentials and has an organizational structure that has survived decades Israeli operations.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Instead, the dry-ice process offers a purely physical, water-free explanation — proof that Mars can still reshape itself today, even without rivers or rainfall.
—Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for purely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purely
Adverb
-
His friend had innocently landed on that scene.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Oct. 2025
-
In a thriller, the suspense is built around a challenge posed to the protagonist — the last big score before retiring, being innocently accused of a crime or accidentally getting involved in something dangerous and deadly.—
Anders de la Motte,
PEOPLE,
28 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
His press office has taken to sending out text-free press releases composed solely of images of ICE agents pointing guns at civilians.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Bell's post wasn't solely met with criticism.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Even with nominally neutral districts, Republicans only have about 17% of California’s House seats despite 38% of state voters backing Trump in 2024.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Neither team scored through the first quarter, and the 49ers had only one possession, which started with a sack (allowed by Dominick Puni) before McCaffrey and Brian Robinson keyed a drive that didn’t get past the Falcons’ 42-yard line.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Unhealthy roots can’t properly absorb nutrients the plant needs.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The lawsuit alleges the property was not properly licensed for rental and did not have appropriate smoke detectors.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Before stepping on stage at New York City’s Lyric Theatre, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal photos of Felton from inside the rehearsal room.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Below Deck Sailing Yacht star Daisy Kelliher is sailing the seas with her very own new podcast, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively reveal.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
In terms of competition, though, Huawei is the alpha dog in Chinese AI chips, shipping between 300,000 and 400,000 of its Ascend AI chips last year, compared to just north of 10,000 units from Cambricon.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Oct. 2025
-
The storm is due to drift west Saturday and could move on to, or just south of Jamaica, early next week.—
Josh Cradduck,
NBC news,
24 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
That’s simply because of the person speaking.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
22 Oct. 2025
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When laundry day rolls around, simply throw the durable topper in the laundry with the rest of your bedding for easy maintenance and tumble dry with no heat.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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In the days of viral Instagram and TikTok challenges, Sober October has blossomed into a global trend of people giving up alcohol, whether in support of the campaign’s original cause or to merely detox near the end of the year.—
Essence,
Essence,
21 Oct. 2025
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But independence can also seem like idiosyncrasy, or merely choosing different corners to cut.—
Helen Ouyang,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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