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

“That’s fairly consistent with what I’m hearing from CEOs that I’ve been spending time with either over lunch or dinners that I regularly host throughout the last several months,” he said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Either way, that’s a fairly moderate read, even if annually the Fed’s preferred core inflation is likely still running at 2.8%.

Read more on Barron's

“Louvre Heist” is an economical and fairly breathless dash around the French capital, the crime scene and the details of the as-yet-unsolved robbery.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Writing in Foreign Affairs magazine last year, the economist and demographer Nicholas Eberstadt noted that in the U.S. “the demographic fundamentals look fairly sound—at least when compared with the competition.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“We think that the impact is going to be around 30 cents for the full year, so it’s fairly significant.”

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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