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purely

purely

277 2.5
Only and not for any other reason
  • adverb
  • /ˈpjʊrli/
translation icon : puramente
  • The decision was based purely on the facts presented during the investigation.
  • purely political
  • purely economic
  • purely cultural

She's never like this purely evil thing.

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Examples

  • Justice and charity were considered to be no more than purely individual obligations.

    Academic text (1990)
  • This is a purely social event.

  • And part of the reason for that was purely finance.

  • Or is the reason purely political?

  • I was picked purely by chance.

  • In the end, however, he justified his decision to buy in purely economic terms.

    Academic text (2011)
  • You can tell yourself that many of these disturbances were purely local.

  • For instance, geometric relationships may be expressed in purely mathematical terms without any mention of space.

    Academic text (1990)
  • It's purely personal.

  • But the educational purpose of Masaccio's chapel remained purely one of reception; it remained secondary to its religious function.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

only
vspurely
1.0

The single person or thing of its kind

expresses the same exclusive limitation involving nothing else
simply
vspurely
1.0

You say this when something is only what is said, nothing more

focuses on exclusive limitation rather than plainness or ease
entirely
vspurely
2.2

Completely without leaving anything out

differs by stressing exclusion of other things rather than totality
nothing but
vspurely
1.5

Only, not anything else

conveys the same exclusion but without the colloquial phrasing
merely
vspurely
836 3.1

Only and nothing more

expresses the same limited involvement without implying simplicity
solely
vspurely
241 4.0

Only, not involving anyone or anything else

marks the same exclusive restriction rather than added elements
strictly
vspurely
223 3.7

It applies only to allowed people or mentioned things

keeps the same limitation but in general contexts rather than rules
exclusively
vspurely
191 3.3

In a way that includes no other people or things

focuses on that same exclusive limitation and nothing beyond it
wholly
vspurely
84 3.4

Completely in every way

contrasts by limiting involvement to only specified elements, not fullness

Antonyms

198 2.4

To some degree but not completely

Compounds

Happening only by chance and not planned

How Pure

virginally
  • Literature
1 8.6
pristinely
1 5.8
purely
277 2.5
innocently
28 2.6

Surface Forms

purely positive

Morphology

purely = pure (transparent) = pure + ly

The suffix '-ly' is a standard adverbial formation from the adjective 'pure', indicating manner or degree.

Etymology

Purely comes from pure, which means 'clean' or 'not mixed', and the ending -ly, which turns it into a word that describes how something is done. So purely means 'only' or 'just', like 'pure' water with nothing added.