fairly

  • 1Fairly — Fair ly, adv. 1. In a fair manner; clearly; openly; plainly; fully; distinctly; frankly. [1913 Webster] Even the nature of Mr. Dimmesdale s disease had never fairly been revealed to him. Hawthorne. [1913 Webster] 2. Favorably; auspiciously;… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2fairly — [fer′lē] adv. [ME: see FAIR1 & LY2] 1. justly; equitably 2. moderately; somewhat [fairly hot] 3. clearly; distinctly 4. virtually; in effect …

    English World dictionary

  • 3fairly — I (clearly) adverb absolutely, aperte, certainly, dare, completely, conspicuously, decidedly, decisively, definitely, discernibly, distincte, distinctively, distinctly, distinguishably, doubtlessly, evidently, explicitly, fully, indubitably,… …

    Law dictionary

  • 4fairly — [adv1] somewhat adequately, averagely, enough, kind of, moderately, more or less, passably, pretty well, quite, rather, ratherish, reasonably, some, something, sort of, so so*, tolerably; concept 786 fairly [adv2] justly deservedly, equitably,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 5fairly — (adv.) c.1400, handsomely, from FAIR (Cf. fair) + LY (Cf. ly) (2). Meaning impartially is from 1670s; somewhat is from 1805; meaning totally is earlier (1590s) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6fairly — ► ADVERB 1) with justice. 2) moderately. 3) actually; positively …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7fairly — [[t]fe͟ə(r)li[/t]] ♦♦♦ 1) ADV: ADV adj/adv Fairly means to quite a large degree. For example, if you say that something is fairly old, you mean that it is old but not very old. Both ships are fairly new (five years old and one year old… …

    English dictionary

  • 8fairly — adverb Date: 12th century 1. in a handsome manner < a table fairly set > 2. obsolete a. in a gentle manner ; quietly b. in a courteous manner 3. so to speak ; nearly, practically …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9fairly — fair, fairly adverbs. Fair is used in its ordinary meaning ‘in a fair manner’ in several fixed expressions, e.g. to bid fair, to play fair, fair between the eyes. In dialect use and in some non British varieties it is used to mean ‘completely,&#8230; …

    Modern English usage

  • 10fairly — /fair lee/, adv. 1. in a fair manner; justly or honestly; impartially. 2. moderately; tolerably: a fairly heavy rain. 3. properly; legitimately: a claim fairly made. 4. clearly; distinctly: fairly seen. 5. Chiefly Southern U.S. a. actually;&#8230; …

    Universalium