Dictionary

widely en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈwaɪdli/

Etymology

From Middle English wijdly, equivalent to wide + -ly.

Meanings

1. In a wide manner; across a wide area.
   • I'm widely travelled.
2. (figuratively) Commonly; generally; to a great degree.
   • Demandt discusses a German example, Ferdinand Grautoff's 1906. Der Zusammenbuch der Alten Welt (1905) (cf. Es hätte auch... 195-196). Thus, a war widely predicted in fiction is only exiguously remembered in post factum allohistorical narratives. 2014 October 14, David Malcolm, “The Great War Re-Remembered: Allohistory and Allohistorical Fiction”, in Martin Löschnigg, Marzena Sokolowska-Paryz, editors, The Great War in Post-Memory Literature and Film, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG., →ISBN, page 173:
   • Kim Jong-il, who has died aged 69, was the general secretary of the Workers party of Korea, and head of the military in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). He was one of the most reclusive and widely condemned national leaders of the late 20th and early 21st century, leaving his country diplomatically isolated, economically broken and divided from South Korea. 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 08 Nov 2021:
   • Rail Minister Lord Hendy was quizzed by the same MPs at an earlier hearing. He maintained that the Bill gave Mayors "much enhanced power" and preserved the existing processes by which rail services can be devolved. "The intention, more widely, is to work collaboratively with all devolved leaders to meet local needs," he said. "It has to be tempered by the reality, which is that the railway network is not generally consistent with mayoral boundaries. […]". 2026 March 18, Peter Plisner, “Will devolution deliver real local control?”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 47:
   • In 1866 Colonel J. F. Meline noted that the rebozo had almost disappeared in Santa Fe and that hoop skirts, on sale in the stores, were being widely used. 1948, Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States, J. B. Lippincott Company, page 75:

Forms

Antonyms

narrowly

Hyponyms

planetwide · citywide · nationwide · around the world · internationally · sitewide · worldwide · countrywide · globally · districtwide · regionwide · islandwide

Synonyms

far and wide · spreadly · widely · extensively

Translations (53)

fr largement (separated by a large distance) · fr fréquemment (commonly, generally) · fr largement (commonly, generally) · pl szeroko (commonly, generally) · sh široko (commonly, generally) · sh далеко (separated by a large distance) · be шыро́ка (commonly, generally) · de entfernt (separated by a large distance) · es ampliamente (separated by a large distance) · fr communément (commonly, generally) · cs daleko (separated by a large distance) · pl daleko (separated by a large distance) · it generalmente (commonly, generally) · fr grandement (separated by a large distance) · te విస్తృతంగా (commonly, generally) · it comunemente (commonly, generally) · mk далеку (separated by a large distance) · es frecuentemente (commonly, generally) · it diffusamente (commonly, generally) · bg дале́че (separated by a large distance) · sk ďaleko (separated by a large distance) · ru далеко́ (separated by a large distance) · fi suuresti (separated by a large distance) · sv vitt (separated by a large distance) · ru широко́ (commonly, generally) · sh широко (commonly, generally) · es extensamente (separated by a large distance) · be далёка (separated by a large distance) · ta பரவலாக (commonly, generally) · de breit (commonly, generally) · eo vaste (commonly, generally) · uk ши́роко (commonly, generally) · sh daleko (separated by a large distance) · it estesamente (separated by a large distance) · pt distantemente (separated by a large distance) · sl široko (commonly, generally) · bg дале́ч (separated by a large distance) · es generalmente (commonly, generally) · fr généralement (commonly, generally) · bg широко (commonly, generally) · es comúnmente (commonly, generally) · pt amplamente (commonly, generally) · sl daleč (separated by a large distance) · gd san fharsaingeachd (commonly, generally) · cs široko (commonly, generally) · fi laajalti (commonly, generally) · it popolarmente (commonly, generally) · uk дале́ко (separated by a large distance) · it universalmente (commonly, generally) · it distantemente (separated by a large distance) · sv allmänt (commonly, generally) · sk široko (commonly, generally) · cs široce (commonly, generally)