mentally
Americanadverb
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in or with the mind or intellect; intellectually.
-
with regard to the mind.
Etymology
Origin of mentally
Explanation
Anything that happens mentally is happening in your mind. This adverb refers to brainy activity. If you’re mentally unstable, you need a shrink. Just as the adverb physically relates to the body, mentally relates to the mind. A mentally tough person is strong-willed. If someone is mentally unfit for a job, he doesn't have the brains to carry it out. A crossword puzzle can be a mentally challenging task. In the Star Wars movies, Jedi knights can mentally move objects just by willing it to happen. This word covers all the things that happen in your head.
Vocabulary lists containing mentally
Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 4
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Kasich
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I can tell you being part of this research helps me mentally because we're trying. When I left the hospital after surgery I was told, that's it, that's all we can do."
From Science Daily • Jun. 22, 2026
You can scoff at forced fun, but staying late for those planned happy hours or conference-room holiday parties might mentally pay off.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026
It doesn’t affect me mentally that the world is in a bad situation.
From Salon • Jun. 15, 2026
Moody added that he was relying on the efforts of his team to keep his "strength up" mentally and physically, so he can complete the challenge.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
She had been thinking for months now about what to name this child, mentally combing through all the people she’d known, the books she’d read in high school.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
