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.
“Under this reporting structure, Azure becomes more purely our consumption-based platform and infrastructure business,” CEO Satya Nadella wrote in the September presentation.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026
Firms that could never get big enough to compete purely on cost have launched thousands of funds featuring income-boosting gimmicks or media-savvy stock pickers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
“So actually it feels like we’ve made a jumbo purely out of responding to what was in front of us,” he said, “with all of the basic tenets of documentary cinema.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
To evaluate the device outside purely theoretical measurements, the researchers tested it on a variety of materials and substances.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Chinese writing is not purely logographic, nor is English writing purely alphabetic.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
