2007 Aug 28, Jon Henley in The Guardian, Diary. Our sincere thanks, penultimately, to the countless hordes of you who, during our absence, sent in...
Source: wiktionary
Penultimately
Synonyms for "penultimately"
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Choosing the right synonym
- Sentence evidence is available for penultimately, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "penultimately".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "penultimately"
Keep "penultimately" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "penultimately" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "penultimately", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "penultimately" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Sample sentences
2 total sentences available.
Tied to a BBC 2 Scotland documentary, Scotland's Top Ten Battlegrounds on Tuesday night, the BBC poll ranked the issues in order from the economy – given a weighting of 1.38, to pensions (0.63), then welfare (0.57), Scotland and the UK (0.51), currency (0.4), immigration (0.39), energy (0.35), defence (0.33), to penultimately Scotland and the EU (0.31), with broadcasting (poor BBC) trailing a very poor last, with a rating of merely 0.05.
Source: wiktionary
Common questions
How should I check whether a synonym fits "penultimately"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.