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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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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 The state of play in restaurant stocks, in particular, exemplifies the shortcomings of a purely top-down view. Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2025 District 7 council member Macy Hill, whose district includes White Settlement Road west of University Drive, said the name change was purely about the development and should not be partisan or political. Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025 The initial food truck purchase came purely from savings. Matthew Geiger, Denver Post, 22 Oct. 2025 Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told local media that investigators believe the robbers, who carried out the raid in just seven minutes in broad daylight Sunday, may have been commissioned by a collector or purely motivated by the value of the jewels and precious metals, Reuters reported. Bonny Chu , Ronn Blitzer, FOXNews.com, 20 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
  • All of her work and coverage decisions are overseen solely by Journal Sentinel editors.
    Kayla Huynh, jsonline.com, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Readers should not rely solely on the content of this article and are encouraged to seek professional advice tailored to their specific circumstances.
    Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
  • In this case, the majority of the court reached for an issue no one presented, setting aside the normal procedure of dealing only with the facts and questions presented by the litigants, Wood said.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2025
  • When the humans return, there are only a handful, better clothed, hair braided and combed, new fashions.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
Adverb
  • This all-in form of college sports accounting has been championed by economists who believe the siloed nature of many athletic departments force them to make financial decisions without properly weighing the campus-wide impact.
    Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Your body requires vitamins to function properly and maintain good health.
    Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 4 Nov. 2025
Adverb
  • Mamdani has also embraced the world of podcasters and influencers, recently hosting a news conference exclusively for content creators that his campaign said was aimed at reaching new and less politically engaged audiences, according to NBC News.
    Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025
  • This major holiday sale, exclusively for members of Sephora’s Beauty Insider program, is also an exciting time of the year for beauty-lovers looking to save on products that rarely go on sale, including Dyson hair styling tools.
    Tim Chan, Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2025
Adverb
  • Leaders in Congress agreed and sent out armadas of patriot privateers to do just that, plundering British shipping around the Atlantic rim and forcing Royal Navy warships to redeploy to convoy duty.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
  • There are also just more bears these days.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
Adverb
  • Partain simply took over in set three with eight kills to set the stage for a dominant fourth set.
    Tim Meehan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2025
  • In this view, the issue is simply that an action was picked that failed to maximize the specified objective.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Adverb
  • That merely meant coach Brian Dutcher didn’t have to delicately parcel out playing time while massaging egos on his Mariana Trench-deep roster, and the bench shortened by circumstance delivered a 77-45 win powered by a pair of true freshmen and a typically frenetic defensive effort.
    Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The ecumenical engagement with removal merely confirmed the integration between primitive fossil capital and every other circuit of accumulation.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Purely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/purely. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.

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