fairly

American  

[fair-lee] / ˈfɛər li /

adverb

1. in a fair manner; justly or honestly; impartially.

2. moderately; tolerably.

   a fairly heavy rain.

3. properly; legitimately.

   a claim fairly made.

4. Chiefly Southern U.S.

   1. actually; completely.

      The wheels fairly spun.

   2. almost; practically.

      He slipped off the roof and fairly broke his neck.

5. Archaic. clearly; distinctly.

   fairly seen.

6. Obsolete. gently; softly.

7. Obsolete. with respect and courtesy.

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fairly British  

/ ˈfɛəlɪ /

adverb

1. (not used with a negative) moderately

2. as deserved; justly

3. (not used with a negative) positively; absolutely

   the hall fairly rang with applause

4. archaic clearly

5. obsolete courteously

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Etymology

Origin of fairly

A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at fair ¹, -ly

Explanation

When you do something fairly, you treat everyone with equal consideration. Sharing a pizza fairly between six people is easy: just give each person one slice. A teacher who doesn't treat all students fairly isn't a very good teacher — and a police officer who doesn't act fairly toward all citizens is also doing a poor job. When you behave fairly, you're unbiased and impartial, and you follow the rules. You can also use this adverb to mean "to a large degree" or "reasonably." For example, you could say, "I'm fairly certain that it's going to snow again tomorrow."

Example Sentences

Fairly drastic measures should be reserved for fairly drastic circumstances, and I don’t think we are in fairly drastic circumstances.

From Salon • Jan. 16, 2026

Fairly early in his lengthy investment career, in the mid-1960s, this thrifty son of Yorkshire, England, grew besotted with speculative small-cap stocks.

From Barron's • Dec. 31, 2025

Poor parking has been a long-standing problem on Skye, with cars and other vehicles often abandoned at the roadside or parked illegally in passing places near attractions such as the Fairly Pools and the Quiraing.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2025

Fairly or not, he’ll always be punished for pulling off one of the hardest things in storytelling — and then daring to repeat it.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2024

“How did it go?” someone would ask, and the reply would be a nonchalant shrug, and “All right. Fairly easy.”

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

Related Words

• adequately
• kind of
• moderately
• quite
• rather
• reasonably