Dictionary

broadly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɹɔdli/ without the cot–caught merger
• /ˈbɹoːdli/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /ˈbɾɔːdli/ (Wales)
• /ˈbɹɑdli/ (cot-caught-merger)
• /ˈbɹoːdlɪj/ (British, Southern, Standard)
• (US) audio non-cot-caught
• /ˈbɾɔdle/ (Scotland)
• /ˈbɹɔːdli/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad Middle English -ly English -ly English broadly From broad + -ly.

Meanings

1. Widely and openly.
   • [W]hen he caught sight of her running towards him like that, he smiled broadly. 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 16:
2. Broadly speaking; in a wide manner; liberally; in a loose sense.
   • That’s broadly consistent with the Real Clear Politics average of all general election matchups between the two; RCP shows Biden with an average of a 6-point lead over Sanders. 2020 April 8, Chris Cillizza, “Why Joe Biden starts as the general election front-runner”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23 May 2025:
   • While companies are bravely talking about their efforts to redress the gender pay gap (large employers will be compelled to report details of how they pay their male and female staff in April), we know that women are, on average, much worse paid than men throughout the City. Broadly, power remains in men’s hands. 2018 January 25, Amelia Gentleman, “Men-only clubs and menace: how the establishment maintains male power”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2021:
   • All these were based broadly on the management framework of the old companies, except that the former Southern and North Eastern Areas of the old L.N.E.R. became separate management units, while the former L.M.S.R. and L.N.E.R. lines north of the Border were fused into a self-contained Scottish Region. 1958 January 14, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 13:

Forms