Dictionary

certifiably en · ADV

Etymology

Etymology tree English certifiable Middle English -ly English -ly English certifiably From certifiable + -ly.

Meanings

1. With the potential for certification.
   • Further, the infrastructure core software, the Plugin modules and configuration information are all designed to be certifiably intact and secure. 2012, Mike Hinchey, Lorcan Coyle, Conquering Complexity, page 384:
   • One or two were hurriedly fetching ropes and yelling contradictory orders, from which I deduced that Mr. Brown had indeed fallen into the gorge, but was not yet certifiably dead. 2007, Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, page 320:
   • Must such a neighborhood or district maintain a certain percentage of certifiably ethnic residents to maintain its eligibility? 1997, Robert E. Stipe, Antoinette Josephine Lee, The American Mosaic: Preserving a Nation's Heritage, page 277:
   • Was the accused at the time of the commission of the act with which he is charged, and before that time, laboring under such mental disease as to render him certifiably insane? […] He goes on to ask, How is a jury to determine whether a man is " certifiably insane?" How is any man to attach a definite meaning to "certifiably insane?" "The phrase can only mean that a couple of doctors can be found to certify that in their opinion the man is insane." 1894, The Medical and Surgical Reporter, volume 71, page 583:
2. Genuinely
   • The main purpose for California Certified Organic Farmers is to certify that the products that growers are selling are certifiably organic 1990 June, Orange Coast Magazine, volume 16, number 6, page 114:
3. To a great extent.
   • Due mostly to his latest creation, the whacked-out Guggenheim branch that opened this fall in Bilbao, Spain, the 68-year-old Gehry has gone from being tagged the scary cousin in architecture's dysfunctional family to being certifiably huge. 1998 January, SPIN, volume 14, number 1, page 42:
   • I don't think the numbers are quite that high today; still, we're glad to be up, up and away and soon over the top— headed for the North Face, Mount Snow's hidden cache of bumped-up, certifiably scary steeps. 2002 November, “Ski”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 67, number 3, page 191:
   • It is brought up when we gather, often voiced by some of the most physically attractive men there, many of whom are objectively gorgeous, certifiably buff. 2003, David Nimmons, The Soul Beneath the Skin:
   • He is certifiably nuts
4. Undoubtedly, demonstrably.
   • Besides that, Mir was certifiably loaded ... she didn't need my Mom to buy her squat ... but apparently Mom had insisted. 2007, Mitch Reed, Blessings of the Father: Book One, page 44:
   • Now that you're certifiably — albeit temporarily — unemployed, you can explore places you've never before had the time, or the inclination, to explore. 2008, Nicholas J. Nigro, No Job? No Prob!:
   • The Tofu Cheesecake Bake-Off, which ten daring bakers had entered, was a special event held mid-week. It was, certifiably, the world's first such tofu pie contest 1981 December, Vegetarian Times, number 52, page 74:
   • You can get a long way into the Presley or Lennon mythology before you have to worry about the way these certifiably electric personalities dealt with the vocal problems of a particular phrase 1981 February 23, New York Magazine, volume 14, number 8, page 47:

Forms

Synonyms

insanely (extent)