mainly
English · Thesaurus
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mainly
- /ˈmeɪnli/ UK
Sounds like Mainely · Rhymes with -eɪnli
Where it comes from
From Middle English maynly; equivalent to main + -ly.
adverb
-
Of a person or thing being the driving force influencing the outcome of an event; chiefly; certainly for the most part.
She had Lord James' collar in one big fist and she pounded the table with the other and talked a blue streak. Nobody could make out plain what she said, for she was mainly jabbering Swede lingo, but there was English enough, of a kind, to give us some idee.
Similar: in the main
-
Forcefully, vigorously.
Such breadth of ſhoulders as might mainely beare
Olde Atlas burthen, […]
Similar: energetically, powerfully, strongly
-
Of the production of a sound: loudly, powerfully.
But in the end, mainly crying out, he fell to raling and wringing his master, upbraiding him that he was not a true Philosopher[…].
Similar: earsplittingly, lustily, raucously, thunderously
- To a great degree; very much.
Similar: principally
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: chiefly, primarily, principally, mostly, most, usually, generally, predominately, predominantly, preponderantly, main, substantially, particularly, principal, especially, specially
adverb
Similar: principally
Translations
Every language
adv chiefly; certainly for the most part
| Español | máxime, mayormente, máximamente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 주로 juro |
| 日本語 | おもに omo ni, 主に omo ni |
| 中文 | 主要地 zhǔyào de |
| हिन्दी | मुख्यतः mukhyataḥ |
| Português | principalmente |
| Français | surtout, principalement |
| Deutsch | hauptsächlich |
| Italiano | principalmente, sostanzialmente |
| Ελληνικά | κυρίως kyríos |
| Română | îndeosebi, mai ales, mai cu seamă |
| Русский | гла́вным о́бразом glávnym óbrazom, в основно́м v osnovnóm |
| العربية | غَالِبًا ḡāliban |
| עברית | בעיקר \ בְּעִקָּר b'ikár |
Talk about this word "mainly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mainly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mainly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mainly "mainly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mainly.Cite this
@misc{mainly_2026,
title = {mainly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mainly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
