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exactly

[ig-zakt-lee]

Example Sentences Origin

adverb

in an exact manner; precisely; accurately.

in every respect; just: He will do exactly what he wants.

quite so; that's right.

Origin:
1525–35; exact + -ly

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To exactly

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Exactly is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Example Sentences

There is a fierce rivalry here over who exactly dropped the first burrito into a vat of hot oil and thus invented the chimichanga.

It's not clear from your post what exactly you were asked at any point in this process.

They do exactly that to others too, only in a more subtle, more veiled way.

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There is a fierce rivalry here over who exactly dropped the first burrito into a vat of hot oil and thus invented the chimichanga.

It's not clear from your post what exactly you were asked at any point in this process.

They do exactly that to others too, only in a more subtle, more veiled way.

In all that snow, however, scientists believe the chance that any two flakes are exactly alike is virtually zero.

And such knowledge might help solve the long-disputed question of exactly why dogs were the first animal to be domesticated.

It's hard to pin down exactly when chocolate was born, but it's clear that it was cherished from the start.

On the other hand, beans and wienies aren't exactly a cheery prospect, either.

Exactly why the feds wanted the robotic aircraft dismantled has never been fully explained.

The magical sunset light was exactly what we'd aimed for.

Not exactly a rosy picture, especially if you're on the outside looking in.

But conventional investing is not exactly safe either.

No one knows exactly how the ponies got to the island.

No one was sure exactly how the scenario would play out, though.

Exactly how a hairworm parasitizes a cricket is unknown.

Once upon a time, there was a house that was not exactly welcoming.

The math describing both situations is exactly equivalent.

It is interesting how two people can read exactly the same piece and come away with completely different impressions.

And figuring out exactly who was coming back and how fast became the source of many an argument.

But scientists still can't explain what causes it, or even exactly what it is.

Exactly how and when speech evolved in our ancestors has proved difficult to explain, however.

But exactly when the caldera will erupt is difficult to predict.

Twenty years ago, that ratio was exactly reversed, he says.

The audible feedback lets you know exactly when you have hit the letter.

Harvard professor says smokers know exactly what they're doing.

Exactly when cereal grains first became part of the human diet is uncertain.

No two parts of this desert ecoregion are exactly alike.

No two signatures--even ones penned by the same person-are exactly the same.

And the whole point of science is exactly that: knowing how you know something so you're sure of what you know.

Since they are hand-made, no two look exactly alike--another reason they appear so natural.

There isn't exactly data to resolve that question, so you'll still have to draw your own conclusions.

We don't know exactly how that's going to come out yet.

It is therefore awkward that finance ministers seem to disagree about exactly what they meant.

The trick is knowing exactly how materials alter light that enters them.

But exactly how much carbon these sinks bind¿and so the true threat of global warming¿is difficult to determine.

Unlikely as it seems, the hotel's name suggests exactly what it is: a hotel made of ice.

Also, you can play around with all sorts of ratios and roasts to make exactly the kind of beer you like.

Jumping out of an airplane wasn't exactly a precision mission.

Of course, it was never clear exactly what it was that would be seen, and when the seeing would take place.

Over the centuries scientists have refined their understanding of exactly what makes up the universe.

But their state collapsed, and no one is exactly sure why.

The good news is that the potential for electromagnetism is exactly quadratic and so can be solved exactly.

In case you haven't noticed, obesity isn't exactly in these days.

In hindsight, that isn't exactly a bad thing, for solitude is one of the valley's blessings.

Once you've decided on the screen tech, the next thing to consider is where exactly you'll be sitting.

The social networking service hasn't exactly been free from criticism over the choices it has made with regard to user privacy.

But they are now spending more time working out exactly how they will make money from it.

The radiation's temperature appeared exactly the same throughout the sky.

Yet exactly how the creatures, which lack specialized eyes, detect such changes has eluded explanation.

But who used them and to design exactly what kind of masks remains unknown.

When applying any herbicide, read the label carefully and follow the directions exactly.

They discovered that this growth is stifled in exactly the way that dark-energy theory predicts.

Seismologists have no way of knowing exactly when or where the next one will hit.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to remembering things, but exactly how that works has long been a mystery.

But it hasn't exactly inspired a bunch of innovation rallies and bake sales.

Or you might know exactly what you want but you're not finding a source for the seed.

There are more sorts of protein in the brain than in any other bodily organ, though nobody knows exactly how many.

Though few ligers exist, they may not exactly be endangered, since they are not thought to exist in the wild.

Anyone can do a certain experiment and get exactly the same result.

It weighs four tons, exactly as much as the air in the room weighs.

Follow label directions exactly and don't use more than the recommended amount.

Exactly how some animals are able to perform true navigation is not known.

Both ideas are ridiculous and for exactly the same reason.

Once you have purchased a pesticide, mix it exactly as the instructions direct.

Now zoologists are trying to find out what made the fruit bats leave and exactly where they've gone.

Always let family or friends know exactly where you will be hiking.

No sooner had the last person shivered back aboard than three humpback whales surfaced exactly where the jumpers had been landing.

He will be talking about exactly what your blog addresses.

Looking for colors that exactly match favorite objects.

When you're shopping for duvet covers, consider making your own to create exactly the look you want.

Exactly how far apart to plant depends on the growth habit of the roses and on your climate.

Not as bad as skunk, but it didn't exactly compliment the turkey either.

And, not knowing exactly what kind of mood you're in, fresh-baked cookies and fresh fruit.

Plop the beans in well-salted boiling water for exactly two minutes.

Trade restrictions are exactly the wrong response to a sluggish global economy.

My only hesitation is that such explanations don't win over those who see the original examples as exactly parallel.

But a few facts aren't exactly common knowledge, including.

But exactly how this cell trafficking occurred was unknown.

The option of a co-op instead of a government health plan is so ill defined that no one knows exactly what it would look like.

Both, with shocking ruthlessness, depicted exactly what they saw.

Admittedly, it has high rainfall and it is a tiny country, but that is exactly the trouble.

Our bipedal gait is a wonder of balance but it remains unclear exactly how our brains manage to maintain.

Of course, with the word iGolf plastered all over the thing, any half intelligent thief is going to know exactly where to look.

They aren't exactly fellowships that were applied for, but they are funding from big recognizable organizations.

But that was exactly what happened this week when a group of bosses met ministers to discuss.

Commitment and tradeoff resolution seemed to be described in exactly the same way here.

Wearable computing is here and it is not exactly what many technology enthusiasts may have had in mind.

My initial reaction was that this was exactly the way it looks when they show you those implosions on.

Summers wasn't exactly seen as a cheerleader for women in mathematics and science.

But many groups are still anxious, and some oil and gas companies have been unhelpfully closed about exactly what.

Find the two candy boxes that are exactly the same.

Yet exactly how and why this practice came about has proved somewhat.

But itwas common knowledge even back then, that some species of living monitor lizards do exactly the same thing.

Exactly how many genes make up the human genome remains a mystery,.

For the right school, the master's degree and experience that you already have may be exactly what they are looking for.

Yet not all banks failed to do exactly what it said on the tin.

The body was preserved exactly where the person was overcome by pyroclastic flows.

But how exactly the wacky weed interferes with remembrance.

Fitness apps for the iPhone aren't exactly thin on the ground.

Yesterday, two students came to my office and told me exactly what the chatty students are saying.

How exactly fluoxetine boosts neuron formation, called neurogenesis, is unclear.

It's people working to make a living, and while it's obvious that it's not exactly pleasant, it's an amazing photo.

It may well prove impossible to pinpoint exactly where it first emerged or became infectious to people.

OK, it's not exactly easy to fly with a poster tube but many people have done it multiple times.

Exactly what effect they have on people's behaviour.

Guides are chosen because of their special ability to read the desert and determine exactly where they are.

Yet it is almost certain that they did not know exactly what a virus was.

Determining exactly what species of dinosaur the skin impressions represent is extremely difficult.

Measuring exertion through power allows a rider to know exactly how hard he is working at any given time.

It's not a straightforward conclusion, which is exactly the point.

But exactly how the inner workings of the urban and rural minds cause this difference has remained obscure-until now.

One neuroscientist is studying exactly how the mechanisms of the brain process memory.

She happened to wake up while the tooth was being exchanged for money and saw exactly who was making the switch: her father.

Moonves didn't elaborate on that statement, so it's not clear exactly what he meant.

My discipline has not exactly done a bang-up job of promoting itself to the non-academic world.

But now politicians are testing how far this commitment should take them-and even what exactly it means.

He'd already decided to have them deboned and knew exactly how he wanted them stuffed and prepared-one inside the other.

Exactly how the human brain works to record and remember an image is the subject of much debate and speculation.

These are people who are, by nature, not exactly camera shy.

And dead was exactly what my uncle did not want to.

It is difficult to determine exactly how much outstanding commercial-property debt was used to finance hotels.

Exactly how this integration happens is not yet understood--which naturally piques the curiosity of neuroscientists.

We don't know exactly where it occurs, or how many there are.

And that is exactly what's garnered the praise and the attention of the food press and public.

But yeah, find out exactly how far you can push the grade inflation and go as far as possible.

Captions will appear exactly as they are submitted with the photograph.

But details of exactly where the lava originates and how it travels to the surface long remained a mystery.

For exactly the reasons mentioned above, it is not possible to equate brain size with either intelligence or cognitive abilities.

He grows mountains of potatoes every year and knows exactly how they need to be stored.

Scientists are not sure exactly how clouded leopards act in the wild.

Donaldson doesn't know exactly why the salt threshold remained unaffected in the short term.

Set an end block or a half block in the mortar bed, centered between the chalk lines and exactly aligned with the end line.

For instance, no one knows exactly what their average life span is in the wild.

Yet it ultimately left the decision on exactly when and where to use antibiotics up to individual farmers.

We're still really puzzled about exactly what is bothering this chicken.

The archaeologists won't say exactly where the book was found until.

Disproving an unexplained phenomenon with a theory is not exactly good science.

Experts don't know exactly when the newly discovered structure ceased to function as a pagan temple.

No, this is exactly the idea of significance testing.

Sharon, you're exactly right about the ornamental value of eggplants in containers.

Now, researchers are determining exactly how high mercury levels need to be before reproduction decreases or stops altogether.

Because they are all coming from the same row of seats in the mezzanine, all the light has exactly the same color.

But exactly what role it plays in recognizing facial expressions has remained a mystery.

Understanding exactly how the brain encodes and stores memories is one of the central, unsolved mysteries in neuroscience.

But don't be fooled by the old rumor that on the vernal equinox the length of day is exactly equal to the length of night.

Wildlife biologists don't know exactly what has been responsible for the continued spotted owl declines.

It's not exactly hunting grizzlies, but it presents its own challenges.

Let's face it guys, you're not exactly a conduit of emotion.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

exactly (ɪɡˈzæktlɪ)

—*adv*
1.	in an exact manner; accurately or precisely
2.	in every respect; just: it is exactly what I want
3.	ironic not exactly not at all; by no means

—*sentence substitute*
4.	just so! precisely!

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

exactly

1530s, from exact + -ly (2). Elliptical use for "quite right" not recorded before 1869.

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exactly

ex·act·ly