especially

American  

[ih-spesh-uh-lee] / ɪˈspɛʃ ə li /

adverb

1. particularly; exceptionally; markedly.

   Be especially watchful when you are out walking alone.

   I love spending time outdoors, especially on sunny days.

   Synonyms:

   mainly, notably, signally

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especially British  

/ ɪˈspɛʃəlɪ /

adverb

1. in particular; specifically

   for everyone's sake, especially your children's

2. very much

   especially useful for vegans

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Usage

See special.

Related Words

Especially, chiefly, particularly, principally refer to those cases that seem to be significant. Especially and particularly single out the most prominent case or example (often in order to particularize a general statement): Winter is especially severe on old people. Corn grows well in the Midwest, particularly in Iowa. Chiefly and principally imply that the general statement applies to a majority of the cases in question and have a somewhat comparative force: Owls fly chiefly at night. Crime occurs principally in large cities.

Etymology

Origin of especially

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; especial + -ly

Explanation

Especially describes something that can be singled out as better or more than. An especially tall building is extremely tall. Behind many good adverbs is a good adjective; this is especially true for the word especially, which is built from the common adjective special. This means something close to particularly and can be used to describe something that is more than something else. Basketball players are especially tall. Puppies and kittens are especially cute. The President is an especially important person. If you win first place in a piccolo contest then you are especially good at playing piccolo.

Example Sentences

Tapes are back in fashion for a growing number of millennials and zoomers, especially in Los Angeles, who are hitting rewind on the format’s presumed extinction.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

OpenAI was adamant that it built its strongest safeguards to date into GPT-5.5 "to reduce misuse, especially for bio and cyber capabilities."

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Then there’s a retired quarterback, whose brain Mendoza is especially excited to pick.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

He is especially interested in collective motion, such as how cells move within the human body.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

All those wires and buttons had intimidated me, especially since they were so often strapped to a living person I was trying to cuff.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• chiefly
• exclusively
• notably
• principally
• specially
• specifically