highly
Americanadverb
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in or to a high degree; extremely.
highly amusing; highly seasoned food.
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with high appreciation or praise; admiringly.
to speak highly of a person.
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more than adequately; generously.
a highly paid consultant.
adverb
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(intensifier)
highly pleased
highly disappointed
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with great approbation or favour
we spoke highly of it
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in a high position
placed highly in class
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at or for a high price or cost
Etymology
Origin of highly
First recorded before 900; Middle English heihliche, Old English hēalīce; equivalent to high + -ly
Explanation
Highly means to a high degree, extremely. A highly dangerous substance is one to stay far away from. If you think very highly of yourself, you give yourself the thumbs up every time you walk by a mirror. Highly comes from the Old English word healice for basically, "honorably," but has also come to mean “very very.” A highly respected writer is one people look up to. A highly regarded politician will probably win an election. Highly also refers to anything that is intense or extreme. A highly flammable chemical can burst into flames easily. The -ly ending is highly common for an adverb.
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.
Its command-and-control Maven Smart System is set to become an official program of record, a highly desired status for defense contracts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
What about the walls of the ballroom, which would also presumably need to meet a highly secure building code?
From Slate • May 9, 2026
The idea remains highly theoretical, and many physicists would caution that there is still no accepted explanation for why the constants of nature have their observed values.
From Science Daily • May 8, 2026
Interest in UFOs has been renewed in recent years as the US government probed numerous reports of seemingly supernatural aircraft, amid worries that adversaries could be testing highly advanced technologies.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
I expect you do not; you were so very small, and she was in the final months of a long and highly satisfactory life.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
