Dictionary

highly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈhaɪli/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English hiȝly, heȝly, heyȝliche, from Old English hēalīce (“highly”), equivalent to high + -ly. Cognate with Dutch hoogelijk (“highly”), German höchlich (“highly”), Danish højlig (“highly”), Swedish högligen (“highly”).

Meanings

1. In a high or esteemed manner.
   • Highly placed officials who denied the story
   • He spoke highly of you.
2. Extremely; greatly; very much.
   • The highly anticipated all-American matchup between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe — marking the first US Open semifinals between two US men in nearly 20 years — will cost you quite a few Honey Deuces to attend. 2024 September 6, Jordan Valinsky, “Ticket prices for the all-American men’s matchup at the US Open are surging”, in CNN:
   • Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
   • He is in a highly visible job.
   • There are those who value a seat sufficiently highly that they prefer to make their daily journeys by the Western Region Vine Street line. 1952 March, R. K. Kirkland, “The Railways of Uxbridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 150:
   • The book was highly controversial yet sold unbelievably well.

Forms

Deriveds

highly superior autobiographical memory · highly sensitive person · highly-strung · highly enriched uranium · think highly of · highly composite number · highly-enriched uranium · highly commended · superior highly composite number

Translations (36)

fi hyvin (extremely, greatly, awfully) · hy սաստիկ (extremely, greatly, awfully) · cs vysoko (extremely, greatly, awfully) · sco heichly (in a high or esteemed manner) · cs vysoko (in a high or esteemed manner) · hu nagyon (extremely, greatly, awfully) · pl wysoko (extremely, greatly, awfully) · fi ylistävästi (in a high or esteemed manner) · hu dicsérőleg (in a high or esteemed manner) · fi ylistäen (in a high or esteemed manner) · es altamente (extremely, greatly, awfully) · fr extrêmement (extremely, greatly, awfully) · ru высоко́ (in a high or esteemed manner) · uk ви́соко (in a high or esteemed manner) · fi kunnioittavasti (in a high or esteemed manner) · hu nagymértékben (extremely, greatly, awfully) · ca altament (in a high or esteemed manner) · de extrem (extremely, greatly, awfully) · hu elismerően (in a high or esteemed manner) · hu rendkívül (extremely, greatly, awfully) · hu igen (extremely, greatly, awfully) · az xeyli (extremely, greatly, awfully) · sco heichly (extremely, greatly, awfully) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌰𐌱𐌰 (in a high or esteemed manner) · az olduqca (extremely, greatly, awfully) · ru высоко́ (extremely, greatly, awfully) · gd gu h-àrd (extremely, greatly, awfully) · bg силно (extremely, greatly, awfully) · bg много (extremely, greatly, awfully) · pt altamente (extremely, greatly, awfully) · hu kedvezően (in a high or esteemed manner) · pl wysoko (in a high or esteemed manner) · de sehr (extremely, greatly, awfully) · hu méltatással (in a high or esteemed manner) · pt altamente (in a high or esteemed manner) · gd gu h-àrd (in a high or esteemed manner)