perfectly
Americanadverb
-
in a perfect manner or to a perfect degree.
to sing an aria perfectly.
- Synonyms:
- ideally, superbly, flawlessly
-
completely; fully; adequately.
This will suit my purpose perfectly.
He’s perfectly happy to help out.
She’s perfectly capable of making her own decision.
adverb
-
completely, utterly, or absolutely
-
in a perfect way; extremely well
Etymology
Origin of perfectly
First recorded in 1275–1325; perfect + -ly; replacing Middle English parfitly, derivative of parfit ( perfect )
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.
Ranging from complete cartoons to more or less fully realized humans, they don’t all fit together perfectly, and so nominally emotional moments don’t necessarily register as such.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
And that’s perfectly OK for them, because they won’t suffer a pang of guilt because of their decision, and they won’t actually feel better about accepting the $150 if they give half of it away.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
A quietly brilliant premise, and a film no one has ever really made, despite the “hag” title perfectly primed for a tale of sick fixation.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
We commonly take a lost-ball penalty after stumbling across other people’s lost balls in the same area, which are perfectly playable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
It seemed like hours before the house was perfectly still.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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.
