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universally

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English universally; equivalent to universal +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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universally (comparative more universally, superlative most universally)

  1. In a universal manner.
    • 1909, John Claude White, Sikhim and Bhutan, page 12:
      My experience of the people was that they were universally polite, civil, and clean, and during the whole time I spent in the country, I only saw one drunken man.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion[1]:
      If successful, Edison and Ford—in 1914—would move society away from the ever more expensive and then universally known killing hazards of gasoline cars: […] .
  2. By everyone or by the vast majority of people.
    The movie was universally praised by its audience.
    • 2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN[2]:
      Each written word when spoken is mutually incomprehensible between a Mandarin speaker in Beijing and a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. If you think that’s odd, consider our number system: the symbol “9” is universally recognized but it’s pronounced “nine” in English and “devet” in Slovenian.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Collocations

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Translations

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Further reading

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From universal +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /iu̯niˈvɛrsaliː/, /iu̯nivɛrˈsaːliː/, /iu̯niˈvɛrsɛliː/, /iu̯niˈvɛrsaliːtʃ(ə)/

Adverb

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universally (Late Middle English)

  1. en masse; impacting or influencing everything or everyone.
  2. usually, commonly, frequently
  3. universally, always.
  4. (rare) entirely, fully.

Descendants

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  • English: universally

References

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