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
The crash that was widely predicted just last summer hasn’t arrived yet.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held the benchmark rate steady at its March meeting, which it is widely expected to do again at its meeting later this month.
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Though the footage was not publicly available before TMZ published it, information about Paul’s assault arrest was already widely known.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
Cloud platforms are widely used across healthcare.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for widely
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held the benchmark rate steady at its March meeting, which it is widely expected to do again at its meeting later this month.
—Tim Maxwell, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Though the footage was not publicly available before TMZ published it, information about Paul’s assault arrest was already widely known.
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
Cloud platforms are widely used across healthcare.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for widely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for widely
Adverb
-
Uber-talented yet, at some point, nearly universally loathed.—
Chris Branch,
New York Times,
10 Apr. 2026
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For all of that gross amount of money spent it should be universally positively recognized.—
Arts Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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This pattern isn’t unique to bats, the authors suggested, and likely applies to biodiversity loss and its impacts on agriculture broadly.—
Leah Campbell,
Hartford Courant,
11 Apr. 2026
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While the health-care sector broadly continues to search for direction, drug stocks have been the clear leaders — and Merck stands out as one of the strongest performers in the group.—
Frank Cappelleri,
CNBC,
10 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Jim Cusson, president of the retail branding agency Theory House that works extensively in the grocery space, said that Starbucks’ adding protein to its lattes should’ve signaled the peak of the protein craze.—
Rich Bellis,
NBC news,
11 Apr. 2026
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Treasury bills were first used extensively during World War I, when they were considered an emergency source of federal revenue.—
Colin Dodds,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Widely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/widely. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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