chiefly
UK/ˈtʃiːf.li/
chiefly adverb: especially or primarily; above all.
Adverb
chiefly (comparative more chiefly, superlative most chiefly)
- Especially or primarily; above all.
- Their relationship is chiefly professional.
- This is a term chiefly used by online gamers.
- Synonyms:
- first and foremost
- Mainly or principally; almost entirely.
- Synonyms:
- by and large
Adjective
chiefly (comparative chieflier, superlative chiefliest)
- Of or relating to a chief.
- The maintenance of a perpetual fire came to be associated with chiefly or royal dignity.1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 261
chiefly meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam
chiefly in Hindi
- chiefly, principally
- प्रधानतः pradhāntaḥ
chiefly in Tamil
- வினையுரிச்சொல், முதன்மையாக கவனத்திலிருக்கும், முழுமையாக கவனத்திலிருக்கும், முதன்மையான, தலைவருக்குரிய, எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் மேலான
chiefly in Urdu
- خصوصاً, پہلے
chiefly in Malayalam
- mainly, in the main, primarily
- പ്രധാനമായി, മുഖ്യമായി, പ്രാധാന്യേന, പ്രാധാന്യതഃ മുഖ്യമായും, മുഖ്യാംശമായി, പ്രത്യേകിച്ച്
More languagesFewer languages
- chiefly in Kannada
- ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ, ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ, ಬಹುಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ
- chiefly in Arabic
- غَالِبًا ḡāliban
Examples of chiefly in a sentence
- (chiefly US) The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey.
- Chiefly, I suspect, it's because we want to try out the Soldier's new parachute.
- The body length of adult triclads (Tricladida) chiefly exceeds 6 mm.
Synonyms of chiefly
Forms of chiefly
| Adverb | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more chiefly |
| superlative | most chiefly |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | chieflier |
| superlative | chiefliest |
Origin of chiefly
From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix).
From chief + -ly (adjectival suffix). Piecewise doublet of chefly and headly.
Words formed from chiefly
Words that rhyme with chiefly
Questions about chiefly
- What does chiefly mean?
- Chiefly means especially or primarily; above all.
- What is chiefly in Hindi?
- Chiefly in Hindi is प्रधानतः (pradhāntaḥ). See Chiefly meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is chiefly?
- Chiefly can be an adverb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce chiefly?
- Chiefly is pronounced /ˈtʃiːf.li/ (UK).
Words near chiefly in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: chiefly (page history and authors); प्रधानतः (Hindi) (page history and authors); chiefly (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); chiefly (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); chiefly (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); chiefly (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-chiefly.ogg.
Cite this entry: “chiefly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/chiefly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.