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View synonyms for chiefly

chiefly

[ cheef-lee ]

adverb

  1. primarily; essentially:

    He phoned chiefly to let us know he was feeling better.

  2. mainly; mostly:

    This dish consists chiefly of noodles.



adjective

  1. of, relating to, or like a chief:

    his chiefly responsibilities.

chiefly

/ ˈtʃiːflɪ /

adverb

  1. especially or essentially; above all
  2. in general; mainly; mostly


adjective

  1. of or relating to a chief or chieftain

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chiefly1

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; chief, -ly

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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

I was drawn to The Class for different reasons—chiefly, the pipe dream of achieving a tighter and tauter backside.

Chiefly, we forgot the many, many problems there are with the bones—the book and score—to this show.

Testimony was what made the case, chiefly the confessions of the young men.

The Innocence Project has done deservedly celebrated work exposing cases of wrongful convictions, chiefly in rapes and homicides.

I refer here chiefly to same-sex marriage, the big issue on which the cultural right now represents a quickly shrinking minority.

He chiefly divided his time between the House of Lords and sitting at home, lamenting over his own ill-starred existence.

He was aware—by her silence chiefly—of the new distance between them, a distance the mention of Tony had emphasised.

At the hotel he found the bench outside occupied chiefly by Jean.

It was a corso blanc, and everyone wore white—chiefly modifications of Pierrot costume—and everyone was masked.

A curious incident: during the night a Fleet-sweeper tied up alongside, full of wounded, chiefly Australians.

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gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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