mostly
English · Thesaurus
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mostly
- /ˈməʊstli/ UK
- /ˈmoʊstli/ US
- /ˈmoʊsli/ US
Rhymes with (Received Pronunciation) -əʊstli, (General American) -oʊstli
Where it comes from
The sense “probably” is a calque from Indian languages such as Tamil அனேகமாக (aṉēkamāka).
adverb mostlie · moastly
- Mainly or chiefly; for the most part; usually, generally, on the whole. They're mostly good people, although they have made a few mistakes.
- To the greatest extent; most. She was to be their chosen visitor, she was to be for weeks under the same roof with the person whose society she mostly prized [...]!
- Synonym of probably, likely.
Similar: by and large, in the main, more often than not, largely, predominantly, principally, all in all, all things considered, altogether, broadly, as a rule, basically, chiefly, feckly, for the most part, generally, in the large, mainly, mostly, on the whole, overall, pretty well, primarily · Opposite: almost, slightly
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: generally, largely, mainly, commonly, chiefly, usually, most, normally, primarily, overall, principally, particularly, predominately, principal, especially, preponderantly
adverb
Similar: by and large, in the main, more often than not, largely, predominantly, principally, all in all, all things considered, altogether, broadly, as a rule, basically, chiefly, feckly, for the most part, generally, in the large, mainly, mostly, on the whole, overall, pretty well, primarily · Opposite: almost, slightly
Translations
Every language
adv for the most part
| Español | más que nada, en su mayoría |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 대체로 daechero, 대개 daegae |
| 日本語 | 大方は ōkata wa, 大体は daitai wa, たいてい taitei |
| 中文 | 大多 dàduō, 大抵 dàdǐ, 大都 dàdū |
| हिन्दी | ज़्यादातर zyādātar, अधिकतर adhiktar |
| Português | sobretudo, principalmente, normalmente |
| Français | surtout, majoritairement |
| Deutsch | meistens, überwiegend, weitgehend, größtenteils, zumeist |
| Italiano | soprattutto, per lo più |
| Română | în special, mai ales, mai cu seamă |
| Русский | по бо́льшей ча́сти po bólʹšej části, гла́вным о́бразом glávnym óbrazom, ча́ще всего́ čášče vsevó, в основно́м v osnovnóm |
Talk about this word "mostly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mostly. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mostly. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mostly "mostly." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mostly.Cite this
@misc{mostly_2026,
title = {mostly},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mostly},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
