newly
Americanadverb
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recently; lately.
a newly married couple.
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anew or afresh.
a newly repeated slander.
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in a new manner or form.
a room newly decorated.
adverb
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recently; lately or just
a newly built shelf
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again; afresh; anew
newly raised hopes
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in a new manner; differently
a newly arranged room
Etymology
Origin of newly
before 900; Middle English; Old English nīwlice. See new, -ly
Explanation
When you describe something as newly happening, it just occurred. A newly hatched chick is barely out of it shell, and a newly arrived classmate just joined your class recently. If you just bought your enormous TV yesterday, you can call it newly acquired, and if your favorite movie finally came out on DVD this weekend, it's newly released. Doing something over again — or as if for the first time — can also be described this way, like when your newly single uncle goes on a blind date. Newly comes from new, with its Old English root neowe, "new, fresh, or recent."
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.
Each newly documented surface can preserve a different moment from the distant past, giving researchers evidence about anatomy, walking behavior, social interactions, and environmental conditions that traditional fossils cannot always provide.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
One of its newly added appetizers is a grilled saltbush-crusted kangaroo loin.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
In Tibet, where Chinese authorities are the only source of information, rescue operations were temporarily paused at the hardest-hit area of Gyirong because of the risk of more flooding from a newly formed lake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
“I hope that people say I was a good and decent man,” Cook said on CBS earlier this month, as he toured a newly opened Houston manufacturing facility.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
Several animal crew members fall through the newly created chasm and hit the water.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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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.