incredibly

American

[in-kred-uh-blee] / ɪnˈkrɛd ə bli /

adverb

in a way that is extraordinary, seemingly impossible, or difficult to believe; incredulously.

Incredibly, we have already raised $750.
very; extremely.

Your hair will be left incredibly soft, supple, and shiny.
I found the incredibly uncomfortable seats a real distraction—tall people beware.

Usage

Incredibly and, somewhat less commonly, incredulously can both be used to mean “unbelievably,” as in It was an incredulously/incredibly expensive flight. They both share the roots of in, meaning “not,” and crēdere, meaning “to believe,” so this shared meaning of “not able to be believed” is rooted in their etymology. Beware, however: they both also have other senses that are not synonyms. Incredibly can mean “very” or “extremely,” but incredulously is not used that way: This is an incredibly exciting moment for me. Incredulously can mean “disbelievingly,” but incredibly is not used that way: She stared at the painting incredulously, skeptical of its veracity .

Etymology

Origin of incredibly

First recorded in 1500–10; incredib(le) ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

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.

"Coco will fight for every opportunity and she played incredibly, but I was mentally strong. I knew I was doing everything right and it was just a matter of a few points."

From BBC

Her parents are still deeply in love, and the family is incredibly close-knit.

From BBC

However, prosecutors say their medical experts found his condition has improved and that the calls reveal he is "incredibly focused" on being found incompetent.

From BBC

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of a "Jane Doe", cites a record of "incredibly alarming and erratic banking behavior" in her own Bank of America accounts, which were used by Epstein's team.

From BBC

“We delivered an incredibly strong start to the year, achieving our highest level of bookings ever on strong demand that extended well into 2028 sailings,” Weinstein said.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023