fairly

[fair-lee]

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.

fairly

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of fairly¹

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

Example Sentences

But there is already a high degree of immunity built up in the population meaning, for most, it's a fairly mild infection.

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One challenge is figuring out a way that fairly compensates talent and rights holders.

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Biden once supported the death penalty, but he came to see it as needlessly cruel, as well as impossible to administer fairly.

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"If we were radically honest with one another all the time, then we'd probably break apart as a society fairly rapidly. So on one level, deception holds us together."

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Scotland's autumn squad will be named on 21 October and, with the exception of Huw Jones, it looks like a fairly clean bill of health.

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Related Words

• adequately 
• kind of 
• moderately 
• quite 
• rather 
• reasonably www.thesaurus.com