chiefly
English · Thesaurus
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chiefly¹
- /ˈtʃiːf.li/ UK
Rhymes with -iːfli
Where it comes from
From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix).
adverb more chiefly · most chiefly
-
Especially or primarily; above all.
Their relationship is chiefly professional.
Similar: first and foremost
-
Mainly or principally; almost entirely.
Similar: by and large
Similar: particularly, for the most part, largely
chiefly²
- /ˈtʃiːf.li/ UK
Rhymes with -iːfli
Where it comes from
From chief + -ly (adjectival suffix). Piecewise doublet of chefly and headly.
adjective chieflier · chiefliest
- Of or relating to a chief. The maintenance of a perpetual fire came to be associated with chiefly or royal dignity.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: mainly, primarily, principally, mostly, predominately, preponderantly, predominantly, main, particularly, substantially, principal, crucially, especially, primary, notably, largely
adverb
Similar: particularly, for the most part, largely
Translations
Every language
adv especially or primarily; above all
| Español | mayormente, máxime |
|---|
adv mainly or principally, almost entirely
| 한국어 | 주로 juro |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | おもに omo ni, 主に omo ni |
| 中文 | 主要地 zhǔyào de |
| Português | principalmente, especialmente |
| Français | surtout |
| Deutsch | hauptsächlich |
| Italiano | principalmente |
| Ελληνικά | κυρίως kyríos |
| Română | mai ales, mai cu seamă, îndeosebi, în principal |
| Русский | в основно́м v osnovnóm, осо́бенно osóbenno, пе́рвоочерёдно rare pérvoočerjodno, literary, в пе́рвую о́чередь v pérvuju óčeredʹ |
| العربية | غَالِبًا ḡāliban |
Talk about this word "chiefly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chiefly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. chiefly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chiefly "chiefly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chiefly.Cite this
@misc{chiefly_2026,
title = {chiefly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chiefly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
