as in universally
across a large area, group, or range
Originally invented in the United States, baseball is now a widely played sport around the world.
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Recent Examples of widely
Anything that keeps you in that heart rate range qualifies, which is part of why the trend has spread so widely.
—
Allison Palmer
june 2, Charlotte Observer, 2 June 2026
While ethanol has been widely used in cars and trucks for decades, particularly in Brazil, it has rarely been deployed as a primary fuel for utility-scale electricity production.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 June 2026
Across suburban neighborhoods, herbicides are widely used for weed control.
—Kansas City Star, 2 June 2026
The Austrian had also lost his first three Grand Slam finals, all against Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, and was finally playing against someone he was widely expected to beat.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for widely
Allison Palmer
june 2, Charlotte Observer, 2 June 2026
While ethanol has been widely used in cars and trucks for decades, particularly in Brazil, it has rarely been deployed as a primary fuel for utility-scale electricity production.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 June 2026
Across suburban neighborhoods, herbicides are widely used for weed control.
—Kansas City Star, 2 June 2026
The Austrian had also lost his first three Grand Slam finals, all against Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, and was finally playing against someone he was widely expected to beat.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for widely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for widely
Adverb
-
Neither option is universally better.—
Eve Cunningham,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
Republican opposition to the fund stalled progress on a $70 billion funding package for immigration enforcement agencies, which Democrats are universally opposed to.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
The Berggruen Institute, a think tank that’s been a vocal champion of UBC, described it broadly as a large wealth fund that people could invest in and get returns from, with some kind of state sponsorship.—
Alison Durkee,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
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That’s because many Americans passively invest their 401(k) and other retirement savings through index funds—large stock portfolios tied to indexes such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 designed to broadly track the market’s performance by pooling together the stocks of the biggest public companies.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
Adverb
-
In retirement, the couple has traveled extensively, visiting more than 80 different countries.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
6 June 2026
-
Former Mayor Harold Washington appears extensively — including a candid photo of Washington shaking hands with constituents while a young Obama lingers in the background.—
A.D. Quig,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Widely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/widely. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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