adv ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb

1. 1
   In public, openly, in an open and public manner.

   "criticize someone publicly"

2. 2
   By, for, or on behalf of the public.

   "publicly available"

Adverb

1. 1
   in a manner accessible to or observable by the public; openly wordnet
2. 2
   by the public or the people generally wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

above-boardaboveboardabroadface to facein plain sightin public

Antonyms

All antonyms

privatelysecretlysub rosa

Example

More examples

"He hasn't said anything publicly, but in confidence he told me he's getting married."

Etymology

From public + -ly.

Related phrases

publicly held

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