solely
Americanadverb
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as the only one or ones.
solely responsible.
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exclusively or only.
plants found solely in the tropics.
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merely.
She wanted solely to get out of the house for a while.
adverb
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only; completely; entirely
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without another or others; singly; alone
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for one thing only
Etymology
Origin of solely
Explanation
Solely is another word for "only" or "entirely": Your new puppy is solely your responsibility — you have to feed it, walk it, and take care of it all by yourself. Solely comes from the Latin sola, the feminine form of "alone," and if you know other Romance languages, you'll recognize it in, for instance, Italian solo, or Spanish solamente and French seulement. In English, a solo is a song you sing alone.
Vocabulary lists containing solely
"Shooting an Elephant"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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5.4: The Second Industrial Revolution (Sources 1–8)
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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.
"Places like this have much to say to our societies, which are often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success or the cult of outward appearance," he said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
It meant the entire four-minute review was conducted solely by those in the VAR hub at Stockley Park.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Rather than positioning solely for a divided U.S. government, Goh says Asian fixed-income investors should focus on the trajectory of energy prices, U.S. monetary policy and global risk sentiment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
A leader’s success cannot be measured solely by the number of people willing to follow along with them.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
When I stand up to add some graceful actions to the soundtrack, he snorts that laughter that he reserves solely for me.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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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.
