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Synonyms

publicly

American  
[puhb-lik-lee] / ˈpʌb lɪk li /

adverb

  1. in a public or open manner or place.

  2. by the public.

  3. in the name of the community.

  4. by public action or consent.

publicly British  
/ ˈpʌblɪklɪ /

adverb

  1. in a public manner; without concealment; openly

  2. in the name or with the consent of the public

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of publicly

First recorded in 1925–30; public + -ly

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.

On Friday, just a couple of days after publicly insisting that the probe would go on, Pirro finally caved.

From Slate • Apr. 25, 2026

Musk's legal team highlighted a 2017 entry in Brockman's personal journal reasoning that it would be lying if Altman publicly asserted OpenAI would stay a nonprofit but became a corporation a short time later.

From Barron's • Apr. 25, 2026

But he’s not the CEO of a publicly traded widget factory.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Once publicly funded matching funds are added in, the mayor’s campaign has collected about $3.7 million.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

The protesters were testing the mayor’s patience. publicly.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

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.