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
The Doomsday Clock is different in that it is meant to be purely symbolic and does not offer a specific prediction of end times, but rather an assessment of the global dangers by some of the world's leading scientists.
—
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
And, sometimes, not often, we are led purely by innocence.
—Fatima Bhutto, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
Even jihadist groups that have explored tactical alliances with these gunmen have been turned off by their purely criminal intent.
—Obi Anyadike, semafor.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Rather than focusing purely on traditional media, the company now views it as just one potential avenue toward building sustainable series and careers.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purely
Doyle Rice, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
And, sometimes, not often, we are led purely by innocence.
—Fatima Bhutto, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
Even jihadist groups that have explored tactical alliances with these gunmen have been turned off by their purely criminal intent.
—Obi Anyadike, semafor.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Rather than focusing purely on traditional media, the company now views it as just one potential avenue toward building sustainable series and careers.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 26 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for purely
Adverb
-
The story starts innocently enough.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
15 Jan. 2026
-
What began as innocently wagering ten or twenty bucks on games escalated to putting $5,000 on long-shot parlays, day after day.—
Vanity Fair,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Unlike many of the new sushi bars that have come to Austin in recent years — Craft Omakase, Endo, Tare, Sushi by Scratch, Tsuke Edomae — Kinsho will offer an a la carte menu instead of solely focusing on omakase dinners.—
Matthew Odam,
Austin American Statesman,
30 Jan. 2026
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The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.—
Avi Patel,
Hartford Courant,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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In Boston, the local elder care industry is suffering from a severe staffing crunch, which is only expected to get worse.—
Tami Luhby,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Now, after eight seasons and no trips to the Super Bowl, Allen can only watch from home as the Patriots play in their 11th Super Bowl with second-year quarterback Drake Maye.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Softened butter is also crucial for making smooth frostings, as cold butter will not emulsify properly and will lead to clumpy results (this is true of cake batters, too).—
Molly Allen,
Southern Living,
1 Feb. 2026
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Evidence gathered by department investigators showed that deputies at that jail had not been properly trained to do mandatory security checks.—
Christopher Damien,
USA Today,
1 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Kodi Smit-McPhee, Aden Young and Sam Rechner have joined the cast of director Patrick Hughes’ film, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Jan. 2026
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The clean supplements brand, which also has a range of functional fragrances, is exclusively rolling-out its mood-boosting fragrances to over 1,000 Ulta locations nationwide, including in the wellness corners of these Ulta shop-in-shop concepts.—
Clara Ludmir,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The concepts haven’t changed, just the names.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The yen touched its strongest level since October in US trading Tuesday after comments from Japanese officials, including just recently the finance minister, fueled speculation that the government may intervene in the market to prevent the currency from resuming its decline.—
Mia Glass,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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And beyond price, simply finding something unique keeps shoppers coming back.—
Mari Sato The Dallas Morning News,
Arkansas Online,
1 Feb. 2026
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In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business, and stop.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
In California, weed is more than a business, more than merely a recreational intoxicant that was finally turned into a legal industry in 2016.—
Scott Eden,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
-
The spa Enchantment doesn’t have its own spa, but fear not, because merely steps away at the Mii Amo resort (also owned by the Enchantment Group) is an award-winning spa that Enchantment guests can take advantage of.—
Asonta Benetti,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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