evidently
Americanadverb
adverb
-
without question; clearly; undoubtedly
-
to all appearances; apparently
they are evidently related
Synonym Usage
See clearly.
Etymology
Origin of evidently
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at evident, -ly
Explanation
The adverb evidently is used to describe something that's obvious or easily understood. The kids next door didn't even apologize for breaking our window with their baseball; they evidently have terrible manners. When something is evident, it's plainly clear. You can use evidently when something couldn't be more obvious, whether you're describing a driver who evidently doesn't understand that a yellow light means "slow down" and not "speed up," or a typo-riddled book that was evidently published hastily. The evidence points toward these conclusions, in other words. The Latin root is evidentem, "perceptible, clear, obvious, or apparent."
Vocabulary lists containing evidently
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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Trash
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My Side of the Mountain
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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.
Markey would be 86 at the end of his next term, the same age Joe Biden would’ve been had he won and finished a second term, but voters evidently saw them differently.
From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026
As mayor, Burnham evidently spent years thinking hard about how to use power, and how he wants to shift the balance in the UK away from Westminster.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
He is a filmmaker with an abiding humanism, evidently flummoxed in the face of the nonhuman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
But this evidently is not the case, said Alessandro Previtero of Indiana University, who co-authored the study with Borja Larrain of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Felipe Severino of Dartmouth College.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
The children, whose nighttime vision was evidently far keener than her own, seemed to be busy arranging something at her feet.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
