adj, adv ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Of or relating to a chief.

   "The maintenance of a perpetual fire came to be associated with chiefly or royal dignity."

Adverb

1. 1
   Especially or primarily; above all. focus

   "Their relationship is chiefly professional."

2. 2
   Mainly or principally; almost entirely. focus

Adverb

1. 1
   for the most part wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

principallyespeciallymainlymostlyprimarilya fortiori

Example

More examples

"Chiefly, I want you to be more frank."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix).

Etymology 2

From chief + -ly (adjectival suffix). Piecewise doublet of chefly and headly.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.