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precisely

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From precise +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /pɹɪˈsaɪs.li/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Hyphenation: pre‧cise‧ly

Adverb

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precisely (comparative more precisely, superlative most precisely)

  1. (manner) In a precise manner; exactly.
    Synonyms: exactly, incisively; see also Thesaurus:exactly
    Antonym: imprecisely
    I always try to express myself precisely.
    • 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
      "To be sure. Mr Carlyle, the private detective——"
      "Inquiry agent," corrected Mr Carlyle precisely.
    • 2024 August 19, David French, “David French on the Pro-Life Case for Kamala Harris”, in The New York Times[1], archived from the original on 19 August 2024:
      He says he will vote against Donald Trump “precisely because I’m conservative.”
    • 2025 June 18, “UNITED STATES v. SKRMETTI, ATTORNEY GENERAL AND REPORTER FOR TENNESSEE, ET AL.”, in Supreme Court of the United States[2], page 47:
      Thus, “[t]he number of people who detransition or discontinue gender treatments is not precisely known.”
  2. (focus) Used to provide emphasis. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

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Translations

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