primarily

English

Etymology

primary +‎ -ly

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹaɪˈmɛɹəli/, /ˈpɹaɪmɛɹəli/

Adverb

primarily (not comparable)

1. (focus) Of a primary or central nature, first and foremost
   • 2015 January 1, Sarah Knapton, “Most cancers are caused by bad luck not genes or lifestyle, say scientists”, in The Telegraph‎^[1]:

     But now a study has shown that most cancers are primarily caused by bad luck rather than poor lifestyle choices or defective DNA.

   • 2018 July 20, “Zika virus”, in World Health Organization‎^[2]:

     Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day.

   • 2019 March 15, Keith Melrose, “Our leading tipsters give their fancy for the Cheltenham Gold Cup”, in The Racing Post‎^[3]:

     Some Gold Cups are won primarily with class, others with stamina.

Synonyms

• by and large, chiefly, for the most part; see also Thesaurus:mostly or Thesaurus:above all

Translations

of a primary or central nature

• Belarusian: галоўным чынам (halóŭnym čynam), пераважна (pjeravažna)
• Catalan: primàriament (ca)
• Crimean Tatar: esasen, esas olaraq, çoqusı
• Finnish: pääasiassa (fi), ensisijaisesti (fi), ennen muuta (fi), ennen kaikkea (fi)
• French: principalement (fr), essentiellement (fr), surtout (fr)
• Galician: primariamente
• German: hauptsächlich (de), in erster Linie (de)
• Icelandic: aðallega (is), fyrst og fremst
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: primært

  Nynorsk: primært

• Romanian: în primul rând, înainte de toate, în principal
• Russian: гла́вным о́бразом (ru) (glávnym óbrazom)
• Spanish: primariamente
• Ukrainian: переважно (uk) (perevažno), головно (holovno)