adverb
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in a pure manner
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entirely
purely by chance
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in a chaste or innocent manner
Etymology
Origin of purely
First recorded in 1250–1300, purely is from the Middle English word purliche; see pure, -ly
Explanation
Anything described as purely is consistent or restricted in some way. Kids often think of their teachers purely as teachers and can’t imagine them outside the classroom. So they get purely confused when they see a teacher at the store. Something pure is made up of only one thing, like a pure gold ring. When anything is described as purely occurring or existing, it is similarly strict. A purely business-related letter is only business. A purely platonic friendship is not romantic at all. A purely bred dog has been bred only with dogs of the same breed. Someone who wants a dog purely for the sake of companionship will not bother with a purely bred dog.
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.
"It is now possible to predict the properties of some complicated materials purely through computation without referring to experiment," says Chan, who is the senior author of the paper and a Simons Investigator in Physics.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Currently, the charter prohibits the city from mortgaging city-owned property and prevents it from operating purely commercial or industrial businesses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Fortunately the plot’s fairly predictable turns—the climax is a funny sing-off between Paulina and Ericka during a performance of the Whitney Houston power ballad “The Greatest Love of All”—are softened by the purely pleasurable performances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
This involves either hiring a professional trustee or a corporate trust firm to act as trustee — which is a purely administrative role and does not involve inheriting anything.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
To the Basongye, music is a purely and specifically human product.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
