chiefly
- adverb
- /ˈtʃifli/
- Once, he bought an interest in a small-town drug store, chiefly to improve his knowledge of pharmacy.
- chiefly responsible
- chiefly concerned
- consist chiefly
Most people are honest chiefly for fear of getting caught.
- Most people are honest chiefly for fear of getting caught.
- I think back in the latter years of the Vietnam War, it was chiefly that war that divided us.
- The, the, the, the battle for land, all of that is chiefly about not Russia, but Poland, it's about Poland.
Examples
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Most people are honest chiefly for fear of getting caught.
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Most people are honest chiefly for fear of getting caught.
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A slice of bread is what we chiefly need.
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A loaf of bread is what we chiefly need.
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First, it attempts a more systematic study of the press coverage, chiefly of the Indian Express.
Academic text (2017) -
Nowadays, memory plays a peripheral role in schooling, chiefly in the study of foreign languages.
Academic text (1992) -
She is chiefly remembered as the author of the novel Frankenstein.
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The Abridgement of Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon is intended chiefly for use in schools.
Fiction book (1991) -
Uranium is mined all over the world, chiefly in Canada and Australia.
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She is chiefly remembered as the author of the novel Frankenstein.
Synonyms
For the most part
To be mostly about one main thing
It happens in most cases but not always
Mainly true in most cases
To say that something is true in most cases
Mostly or for the most part
For the most part
Most of all, more important than other things
Antonyms
How Predominant
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Chiefly comes from the word chief, which originally meant 'head' or leader. So, just as a chief is the main person, chiefly means 'mainly' or 'for the most part'.