fairly
pronunciation
How to pronounce fairly in British English: UK [ˈfeəli]
How to pronounce fairly in American English: US [ˈferli]
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- Adverb:
- to a moderately sufficient extent or degree
- in a fair evenhanded manner
- in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating
Word Origin
- fairly (adv.)
- c. 1400, "handsomely," from fair (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "impartially, justly" is from 1670s. Sense of "somewhat" is from 1805, a curious contrast to the earlier, but still active, sense of "totally" (1590s). Old English had fægerlice "splendidly."
Example
- 1. Our recruitment process is fairly thorough .
- 2. One factor is a fairly open immigration policy .
- 3. The paper gains are fairly well-understood by olam 's followers .
- 4. Its fairly modest successes therefore look particularly good .
- 5. Examples like these are fairly rare , though .