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; fair ¹, -ly

Example Sentences

He added: "He's not going to do that. I don't know, but I'm offering my best judgement as somebody who's observed him at fairly close quarters. He's not a fool."

From BBC

Greenland’s status within the Kingdom of Denmark has been a subject of domestic political fights for decades, and Danish laws are fairly explicit on how change could occur.

From The Wall Street Journal

Discovery has not fairly considered his company’s bid, which he maintains would result in a more lucrative deal than Warner’s proposed sale to Netflix.

From Los Angeles Times

The relationship between Beijing and Caracas was fairly simple.

From BBC

The calls were fairly innocuous and typically would not raise eyebrows.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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