Dictionary

comparatively en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (US) audio Mary-marry-merry
• /kəmˈpæɹ.ə.tɪvli/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /kəmˈpæɹ.ə.tɪvli/ (General-American)

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin comparātīvusbor. Old French comparatifbor. Middle English comparatif English comparative Middle English -ly English -ly English comparatively From comparative + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a comparative manner.
   • And yet I suppose that my life has been, comparatively speaking, a happy one. 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
   • Railway grouping had caused some peculiarly Scottish phraseology to disappear, though the note "Stops on timous notice to the guard" survived until comparatively recently. 1956 April, K. H. Rudolph, “Fun with "'Bradshaw"”, in Railway Magazine, page 253:
2. When compared to other entities.
   • In freewayless areas like the Northwest, traffic jams are comparatively fewer – encouraged by the lack of a highway, more people have been riding buses. 2019 February 7, Richard F. Weingroff, “The D.C. Freeway Revolt and the Coming of Metro: Part 5 - After the Court Revolt”, in Federal Highway Administration, archived from the original on 23 Oct 2025, page 61:
   • Never did I see a more dreary and depressing scene. Miles on miles of quagmire, varied only by bright green strips of comparatively solid ground[.] 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

Forms

Translations (23)

ru сравни́тельно (when compared to other entities) · gl comparativamente (when compared to other entities) · pt comparativamente (when compared to other entities) · it relativamente (in a comparative manner) · es comparativamente (in a comparative manner) · nl relatief (in a comparative manner) · uk порі́вняно (when compared to other entities) · ca comparativament (when compared to other entities) · es comparativamente (when compared to other entities) · de verhältnismäßig (in a comparative manner) · ru сравни́тельно (in a comparative manner) · ar نِسْبِيّاً (when compared to other entities) · nl betrekkelijk (in a comparative manner) · el συγκριτικά (in a comparative manner) · el συγκριτικά (when compared to other entities) · gl comparativamente (in a comparative manner) · de verhältnismäßig (when compared to other entities) · hy համեմատաբար (in a comparative manner) · de vergleichsweise (in a comparative manner) · de vergleichsweise (when compared to other entities) · hy համեմատաբար (when compared to other entities) · ca comparativament (in a comparative manner) · pt comparativamente (in a comparative manner)