What does “nearly” mean?
- 1
adverbalmost, but not completely
It’s nearly ten o’clock, we should go.
Nearly at a glance
- Part of speech
- adverb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈnɪrli/ · NEER-lee
How to use “nearly” correctly
“Nearly” does not mean “near” in place: “I live near the park,” not “nearly the park.” “Not nearly” means “far from”: “It’s not nearly enough.”
Common phrases with “nearly”
- nearly all
- nearly always
- not nearly as… as
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
Word family
“nearly” is on these word lists
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