Nearly

Definition: Nearly

Nearly

Adverb

1. (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; (`near' is used informally for `nearly' as in "I was near exhausted by the run"; `most' is used informally for `almost' as in "most everybody agrees").

2. In a close manner; "the two phenomena are intimately connected"; "the person most nearly concerned".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "nearly" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references)

Tips from 1870

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Nearly

Consanguinity

Intimately related, nearly related, closely related, remotely related, distantly related, allied; german.

Smallness

Almost, nearly, well-nigh, short of, not quite, all but; near upon, close upon; peu s'en faut, near the mark; within an ace of, within an inch of; on the brink of; scarcely, hardly, barely, only just, no more than. about, thereabouts, somewhere about, nearly, say; be the same, be little more or less. no ways, no way, no wise; not at all, not in the least, not a bit, not a bit of it, not a whit, not a jot, not a shadow; in no wise, in no respect; by no means, by no manner of means; on no account, at no hand.

Whole

Bulk, mass, lump, tissue, staple, body, compages; trunk, torso, bole, hull, hulk, skeleton greater part, major part, best part, principal part, main part; essential part; (importance).; lion's share, Benjamin's mess; the long and the short; nearly, all, almost all.

Crosswords: Nearly

Well, it nearly worked for him, hey. (Trainspotting; writing credit: Irvine Welsh; John Hodge)

Well, you have to remember that when we were married, I wasn't having sex nearly as often as you were (Liar Liar; writing credit: Paul Guay; Stephen Mazur)

We're fielding all their strokes, running a lot of them out, and pretty consistently knocking them for six. I'd say they're nearly out of the game (Brazil; writing credit: Terry Gilliam; Charles McKeown)

But not nearly as much fun. (Caroline in the City; writing credit: Angela Carneiro)

Day by day, day by day O Dear Lord, three things I pray To see more clearly Love thee more dearly Follow thee more nearly Day by day. (Godspell; writing credit: David Greene; John-Michael Tebelak)

Nearly made me sick to the point of throwing up (What's Your Flava?; performing artist: Craig David)

The sun ain't nearly on the rise (LAY DOWN SALLY; performing artist: ERIC CLAPTON)

And I's feeling nearly as faded as my jeans (Me & Bobby McGee; performing artist: Janis Joplin)

To love you even though you nearly lost my heart (Valotte; performing artist: Julian Lennon)

And I nearly lost my mind (Do Wah Diddy Diddy; performing artist: Manfred Mann)

Fleas can be taught nearly anything that a Congressman can. (references; author: Mark Twain)

Nearly a Nasty Accident (1961)

We Nearly Lose Him (1926)

Nearly Rich (1925)

It Nearly Happened (1916)

Nearly a Lady (1915)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Nearly Normal Life: A Memoir (reference)

• A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President (reference)

• Hagar the Horrible's Very Nearly Complete Viking Handbook (reference)

• Nearly Impossible Brain Bafflers (reference)

• Tocqueville on American Character: Why Tocqueville's Brillant Exploration of the American Spirit Is As Vital and Important Today As It Was Nearly two (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Nearly No Christmas (reference)

• Todd Rundgren: Nearly Human - Live in Japan (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Nearly Blue (reference)

• Nearly God (reference)

• Nearly Lost You (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

New Animation Depicts Changs in Antarctic Ice Sheet For the first time, scientists at NASA have generated a computer model depicting changes in the Antarctic ice sheet since the peak of the last ice age - nearly 20,000 years ago. The West Antarctic ice. Credit: NASA.

The Hubble telescope has captured snapshots of Saturn with its rings nearly edge-on to our ... Credit: NASA.

A nearly perfect ring of hot, blue stars pinwheels about the yellow nucleus of an unusual ... Credit: NASA.

Photopolarimeter-radiometer (PPR) thermal map of Ganymede's surface. Compare to the SSI image release on 08/16/96 (above) which shows nearly the same view. (The PPR map is rotated about 30 degrees to the west of the SSI image.) (Released 09/25/96). Credit: NASA.

Each of these swirling clouds is a result of a meteorological phenomenon known as a Karman vortex. These vortices appeared over Alexander Selkirk Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rising precipitously from the surrounding waters, the island's highest point is nearly a mile (1.6 km) above sea level. As wind-driven clouds encounter this obstacle, they flow around it to form these large, spinning eddies. Credit: NASA.

Packing instruments for astro work Nearly 300 pounds total Astro crew of C.V. Hodgson. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

Recovery of current buoy from approach to nearly on deck Off of WAINRIGHT Photo #3 of sequence. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

A pineapple plant with the fruit nearly ready to harvest. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Hart-Miller Island, once two islands that nearly eroded into extinction, are now one. They are being regenerated and enlarged with dredge spoils from Baltimore Harbor. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Small halo, sun dogs, and arc of much larger halo nearly bisecting smaller halo. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

The various interests and conditions of life within the ranks of the proletariat are more and more equalised, in proportion as machinery obliterates all distinctions of labour, and nearly everywhere reduces wages to the same low level. (reference)

Police governments are prevailing in nearly every case, and so far, except in Czechoslovakia, there is no true democracy. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

After nearly four years of total isolation he was so pleased and relieved to see Ford that he could almost cry. Ford was, on the other hand, an almost immediately annoying person

This image, so nearly identical with the living Pearl, seemed to communicate somewhat of its own shadowy and intangible quality to the child herself

It took him nearly a quarter of an hour to get back to the shanty in the garden

Nearly a hundred people have to go out and wander on the roads for your three dollars a day.

Glubbdubdrib, as nearly as I can interpret the word, signifies the Island of Sorcerers or Magicians

Beside being better off than they already, if my house had been burned or my crops had failed, I should have been nearly as well off as before

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

In some groups nearly 50% of children are infected. (references)

During a normal day, we breathe nearly 25,000 times. (references)

A girl born in 1990 can expect to live nearly 79 years. (references)

Business

This was a total of nearly US$1 billion. (references)

Xiamen handles nearly 113,000 TEUs on an annual basis. (references)

Nearly 96 percent of all medical equipment is imported. (references)

Children

Denmark

School attendance is nearly universal. (references)

India

Three children died after consuming the food, and nearly 1,000 others became ill. (references)

Philippines

DSWD offices served nearly 7,500 victims of child abuse during the year, 73 percent of whom were girls. (references)

Civil Liberties

Chad

Sheikh Marouf was released from prison after nearly 1 year in jail. (references)

Malaysia

The ruling makes conversion of Muslims nearly impossible in practice. (references)

Kenya

Foreign missionary groups of nearly every faith operate in the country. (references)

Economic History

Honduras

Damages totaled nearly $3 billion. (references)

Tunisia

NEARLY 660 MILLION USD WAS IN THE FORM OF FDI. (references)

Albania

Nearly 98 percent of land is now privately owned. (references)

Human Rights

Italy

Nearly one in three prisoners has been jailed for a drug violation. (references)

Portugal

The first case involved two sets of proceedings that lasted nearly 11 years. (references)

Djibouti

Gabode prison, built for 350 persons, at times housed nearly twice that number. (references)

Indigenous People

Australia

Employed indigenous people were nearly 3 times more likely than nonindigenous people to be working as laborers and related workers and only half as likely to be employed as managers and administrators or in professional occupations, according to the latest available (1998) figures from the Bureau of Statistics. (references)

Minorities

Slovak Republic

Among Roma living in settlements in the east, the unemployment rate is nearly 100 percent. (references)

Israel and the occupied territories

Eight villages have been recognized officially since 1994, but nearly 100 more, of varying size and with a total population of nearly 70,000 persons, remain in limbo. (references)

Political Economy

TUNISIA

At $1.9 billion this provides nearly three months import cover. (references)

Iran

Oil exports account for nearly 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings. (references)

HAITI

Collective bargaining is nearly nonexistent, especially in the private sector. (references)

Political Rights

Kazakhstan

Modifying or amending the Constitution is nearly impossible without the consent of the president. (references)

Yugoslavia

Ethnic Albanians, who constitute a majority in certain southern Serbian border areas, are underrepresented at nearly every level of government. (references)

Uzbekistan

Nearly half (110 out of 250) of those elected were not from party lists but were either hokims themselves or were nominated by the hokims' local assemblies. (references)

Trade

South Africa

VAT is payable on nearly all imports. (references)

Poland

Tariffs range from 0 (zero) to nearly 400% (strong specialty sprits). (references)

Switzerland

The retail market is dominated by two retail giants who account for nearly half of grocery sales. (references)

Travel

Lebanon

Payment by check or credit card is possible nearly everywhere. (references)

Chile

Although social occasions rarely begin at the indicated time, business meetings nearly always do. (references)

Taiwan

Since cards are required on nearly every business occasion, it is a good idea to carry sizable numbers of them at all times. (references)

Women

Guatemala

In urban areas, nearly one in four households is headed by a woman. (references)

Mauritius

Alcohol or drugs was a contributing factor in nearly 70 percent of these cases. (references)

Philippines

Of nearly 1,900 prisoners sentenced to death, 52 percent were convicted of rape. (references)

Worker Rights

Syria

The GFTU controls nearly all aspects of union activity. (references)

Haiti

Nearly 77 percent of restaveks have never been to school. (references)

Egypt

Nearly 78 percent of working children are in the agricultural sector. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "nearly": as nearly as i can tell ♦ be nearly over ♦ it's nearly midday ♦ nearly best linear estimator ♦ nearly die ♦ nearly die! ♦ not nearly ♦ very nearly. Additional references.

Beginning with "nearly": nearly-bald, nearly-black, nearly-blonde, nearly-clothed, nearly-complete, nearly-completed, nearly-elegant, nearly-equal, nearly-exposed, nearly-flying, nearly-full, nearly-invisible, nearly-kiss, nearly-legendary, nearly-man, nearly-men, nearly-new, nearly-pure, nearly-right, nearly-silence, nearly-silences, nearly-square, nearly-steaming, nearly-total.

Ending with "nearly": eating-nearly, very-nearly.

Afrikaans

byna (almost), amper (almost, barely, hardly, only, only just, scarcely), alhaas (almost, soon). (various references)

Albanian

pothuaj (all but, almost, but, half and half, most, much, near, practically, pretty, quasi, scarcely, virtually, well nigh), gati (about, all but, almost, at hand, but, in line, in store, much, picked, practically, prepared, pretty, ready, scarcely, virtual, well nigh). (various references)

Arabic 

‏حوالي (about, almost, around, or so, some, upon), ‏تقريبا (about, all but, almost, most, near, quasi, roughly, somewhere, thereabouts, upward, upwards, well nigh), ‏على نحو وثيق. (various references)

Bulgarian 

тясно (closely, intimately, tight), току-речи (almost), отблизо (close), едва не, близко (closely, inly, intimately, near), приблизително (about, approximately, at a rough guess, much, near, roughly, round about, some, something like, somewhere about), почти (about, almost, approximately, half, like, near, next to, nigh, on, practically, say, something like, virtually, well nigh), интимно (confidentially, familiarly, informally, inly, intimately). (various references)

Chinese 

垂 (almost, bend down, bequeath, dangle, droop, factory, hand down, to approach, to hang), 幾乎 (almost, practically), 几乎 (Almost), 將近 (almost, close to). (various references)

Czech

velmi (all, deeply, ever so, extremely, greatly, grossly, most, very), témìř (about, all but, almost, well nigh), téměř, skoro (about, all but, almost, hardly, practically), blízce. (various references)

Danish

næsten (almost). (various references)

Dutch

schier (almost), haast (almost, haste, soon). (various references)

Esperanto

preskaŭ (almost). (various references)

Faeroese

næstan (about, almost, approximately), umleið (almost). (various references)

Finnish

melkein (almost). (various references)

French

presque. (various references)

Frisian

skraachwurk (almost), skraach (almost), omtrint (almost), hast (almost), beneistenby (almost), benei (almost), amperoan (almost). (various references)

German

beinahe (almost, near), nahezu (almost, near, virtually), fast (all but, almost, just about, most, near, peradventure, virtually). (various references)

Greek 

σχεδόν (all but, almost, as good as, close on, just about, near, nigh, practically, thereabout, thereabouts, virtually, well nigh). (various references)

Guarani

haimete (very nearly). (various references)

Hawaiian

thuaja (almost), pothuaj (almost), gati (almost), afro (almost). (various references)

Hebrew 

לערך (approximately), כמעט (about, all but, almost, near, virtually). (various references)

Hungarian

majdnem (all but, almost, just, little short of it, much, narrowly, near, next door to, nigh, pretty near, quasi, to be scarcely able to keep one's head above water, well nigh, wellnigh, within an inch), csaknem (all but, almost, just, near). (various references)

Icelandic

næstum (almost), nær (almost), hér um bil (almost). (various references)

Indonesian

hampir (almost, at the point of, next to). (various references)

Italian

quasi (about, all but, almost, halfway, hardly, nigh, practically, scarcely, very nearly). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

前後 (about that, approximately, around, before and after, before and behind, context, front and back, longitudinal, throughout), 八九分 (almost), 危うく (almost, in imminent danger of). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ぜんご (about that, approximately, around, before and after, before and behind, context, finishing up carefully, front and back, giving careful thought to the future, longitudinal, throughout), あやうく (almost, in imminent danger of), はっくぶ (almost). (various references)

Korean 

가깝게 (Closely). (various references)

Malay

hampir (almost). (various references)

Manx

bunnys (almost, verge, virtually, wellnigh), begnagh (almost, wellnigh). (various references)

Norwegian

nesten (almost). (various references)

Papiamen

kasi (almost), era (almost). (various references)

Pig Latin

earlynay.(various references)

Polish

niemal (almost), prawie (almost). (various references)

Portuguese

quase (about, all but, almost, approximately, half, half-way, just, just about, much, near, next to, nigh, quasi, well-nigh). (various references)

Romanian

aproape (about, afar, all but, almost, anigh, approximately, as good as, at one's elbow, at the point of, close, close by, close upon, far, far away, hard, immediately, just about, little or nothing, near, near by, nearby, neighbor, neighbour, nigh, remotely, some, soon, thereabouts). (various references)

Russian 

почти (about, all but, almost, close on, much, practically, quasi, well nigh, well-nigh). (various references)

Scottish

cha mhór (almost, it may almost). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

zamalo (all but, almost), umalo, tačno (accurately, aright, due to, exactly, notedly, ok, okay, okey, precisely, promptly), skoro (about, almost, just, just about, newly, practically, recently, soon, well nigh), prisno (cheek by jowl, intimately), blizu (by, close, close to, hard, near, near to, nearby, vicinity: in the vicinity). (various references)

Spanish

casi (about, all but, almost, near, next, next door, next to, nigh, quasi). (various references)

Sranan

pikinso moro (almost). (various references)

Swedish

nästan (about, all but, almost, kind of, much, nigh), närapå, nära (at hand, cherish, close, close to, closely, entertain, impolite, intimate, near, nigh, off, proximate, up-close). (various references)

Tagalog

hálos (almost, at all, entirely, quite, wholly). (various references)

Thai

เกือบ. (various references)

Turkish

neredeyse (all but, almost, ere long, in any moment, just about, little less than, next door to, next to, practically, pretty much, soon, well nigh, within an ace of doing), yakından (close, closely), takriben (about, approximately, circa, in the rough, some), hemen hemen (about, all but, almost, at close quarters, barely, much, near, next door to, next to, nigh, practically, pretty much, proximate, scarcely, well nigh), az kalsın (all but, almost, by a hairbreadth, by a hair's breadth, just, just about, within an ace of doing), az daha (all but, almost, next door to), adeta (almost, fairly, in fact, so to say, so to speak). (various references)

Turkmen 

tas (almost). (various references)

Ukrainian

тісно (closely, narrowly), майже (about, all but, almost, anear, approximately, as good as, but, half, hard upon, just about, much, near, nearby, next door to, next to, nigh, nighly, practically, quasi, quite, well nigh, within), мало не (almost, near), біля (against, alongside, anigh, around, at, by, near, next, on, round), безпосередньо (direct, directly, first hand, immediately, live, near, straight), близько (about, anigh, around, at close range, bain, close, closely, familiarly, hard upon, near, near at hand, nigh, short, something like, somewhere, thereabout, thereabouts), пріблизно. (various references)

Vietnamese 

suýt mặt thiết, sắp, sát (close, closely, next, stipate), gần (by, closely, hard, inch, near, near-by, next, proximate, verge, well-nigh). (various references)

Welsh

ymron (almost), bron (almost, breast). (various references)

circiter, fere, ferme, iuxta, paene, paene, pene, paene; pene, prope, propius. (various references)

Derivations

Words ending with "nearly": interlinearly, linearly, rectilinearly. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Nearly" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bearly, fearly, mearly, Nahariya, narly, Nayral, Neally, nealy, nearl, nearty, Nearula, neary, neery, Negarty, neily, nerl, Nirali, noryl. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: early, layer, learn, leary, relay, renal, yearn.

-2 letters: aery, aryl, earl, earn, elan, eyra, lane, lean, lear, lyre, nary, near, rale, real, rely, yare, yarn, yean, year.

-3 letters: ale, ane, any, are, aye, ear, era, ern, lar, lay, lea, ley, lye, nae, nay, ran, ray, rya, rye, yar, yea, yen.

-4 letters: ae, al, an.

+1 letter: angerly, blarney, inlayer, larceny, plenary.

+2 letters: analyser, analyzer, ardently, bankerly, barrenly, blarneys, brazenly, cravenly, errantly, inlayers, interlay, larynges, larynxes, layering, linearly, mannerly, neurally, ornately, relaying, repandly, underlay, unreally, urbanely, vernally, yearling, yearlong.

+3 letters: analysers, analyzers, blarneyed, centrally, certainly, chandlery, clergyman, earnestly, embryonal, endurably, enterally, eternally, generally, germanely, glengarry, gyroplane, interlays, interplay, laryngeal, lawyering, layerings, layperson, learnedly, legendary, legionary, linearity, liveryman, manslayer, millenary, minelayer, monolayer, myoneural, neutrally, nonlawyer, numerally, operantly, painterly, pargyline, parleying, planetary, profanely, reanalyze, relevancy, reliantly, renewably, replaying, roundelay, salarymen, searingly, strangely, ternately, unawarely, underlays, underplay, unearthly, unreality, venerably, ventrally, verdantly, vulnerary, wearingly, yearlings.