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Synonyms

dearly

British  
/ ˈdɪəlɪ /

adverb

  1. very much

    I would dearly like you to go

  2. affectionately

  3. at a great cost

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The Montreal Economic Institute warned in a statement on Monday that the fund "risks costing taxpayers dearly while generating limited returns".

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

Not listening to his mother cost 23-year-old Nigerian Rasheed Wasiu dearly – more than five years of his freedom for something he did not do.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

I grew up in and love so dearly.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Hitting those would cost Iran dearly since it is still exporting oil through the Strait.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

I would dearly love to read the reactions, the observations of each and every person who walks through the gates of Le Cirque des Rêves, to know what they see and hear and feel.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

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.