partly
Americanadverb
adverb
Usage
Partly and partially are to some extent interchangeable, but partly should be used when referring to a part or parts of something: the building is partly (not partially ) of stone, while partially is preferred for the meaning to some extent: his mother is partially (not partly ) sighted
Etymology
Origin of partly
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.
This ambiguity is, at least partly, by design.
From BBC
Retail sales rose 0.6% in February, the government said Wednesday, partly fueled by annual tax refunds.
From MarketWatch
Ukrainian strikes have largely targeted Russian military bases in the peninsula, which borders the partly Russian-occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
From BBC
Molly’s is the movie’s funniest line, partly because of Ms. Field’s delivery, partly because we’re all thinking the same thing—that no one is going to escape this film with his or her dignity intact.
"It's a bit like playing pin the tail on the donkey with us being partly blindfolded and there being very little donkey left for us to pin the tail on," Sherborne complained.
From BBC
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.
