widely

adverb

wide·​ly ˈwīd-lē 

1

: over or through a wide area

has traveled widely

2

: to a great extent

departed widely from the previous edition

3

: by or among a large well-dispersed group of people

a widely known political figure

4

: over a broad range

… persons with widely fluctuating incomes.

—Current Biography

Examples of widely in a Sentence

Their products are widely available.

a widely known political figure

The books are widely read by adults as well as children.

Recent Examples on the Web

As hospice care became more widely available and demand grew, the field expanded to serve more patients and families across the country. —Tom Koutsoumpas, Oc Register, 24 Apr. 2026

Pahlavi is the son of Iran’s former shah, who was so widely hated that millions took to the streets in 1979 to force him from power. —Sean Nevin, NBC news, 24 Apr. 2026

One death was linked to a mass shooter and widely covered in the news. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026

The company was able to use the program, which has not been widely released, to find a 27-year-old security vulnerability in OpenBSD, an operating system known for its security. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing widely

• widely believed
• widely distributed

Rhymes for widely

• impliedly
• idly
• unqualifiedly