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.
Nicastro wanted to see whether humans could identify the emotional state of the cat based solely on the sound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
That represents a 67% increase compared with 2024, driven solely by population growth and aging.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Trained volunteers, including first responders, connect with audiences who have learned of the disaster solely through their parents or school.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
In Texas, state agencies don’t rely solely on vehicle authority grants to add surveillance devices, and Abbott’s office pointed to federal grants for funding the cameras.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
It consisted solely of heaps of stones—which were handy for throwing down the hole—together with a few rusty Genoese cross-bows with their bolts and a pile of turfs for the unlit fire.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
