1
: in or to a high place, level, or rank
2
: in or to a high degree or amount
3
: with approval : favorably
Synonyms
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- much
- particularly
- passing
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Examples of highly in a Sentence
She is one of the most highly respected journalists in the country.
though she didn't win, she was highly satisfied with her personal results for the marathon
Recent Examples on the Web
Here’s the latest: • Millions of Americans under heat alerts: More than 100 million Americans, including those in the highly populated I-95 corridor, are under heat alerts through the weekend.
—
Dalia Faheid, CNN, 22 June 2024
The highly respected Tom’s Elton Tribute has two Connecticut gigs this month, June 29 at 7 p.m. at the Webster in Hartford ($30, $400 VIP booth; thewebsterct.com) and June 30 at 7 p.m. at at the Klein in Bridgeport ($25-$40; theklein.org).
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2024
In the past week, in the midst of a clear program shift toward recruiting big-time defensive talent from the South, two highly touted 2025 defensive line commits – Isaiah Gibson and Justus Terry – decommitted from USC.
—Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 22 June 2024
Rise of the Resistance is, indeed, highly beloved by Disney Parks visitors — the wait for the ride often exceeds two hours.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for highly 
Dalia Faheid, CNN, 22 June 2024
The highly respected Tom’s Elton Tribute has two Connecticut gigs this month, June 29 at 7 p.m. at the Webster in Hartford ($30, $400 VIP booth; thewebsterct.com) and June 30 at 7 p.m. at at the Klein in Bridgeport ($25-$40; theklein.org).
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 22 June 2024
In the past week, in the midst of a clear program shift toward recruiting big-time defensive talent from the South, two highly touted 2025 defensive line commits – Isaiah Gibson and Justus Terry – decommitted from USC.
—Luca Evans, Orange County Register, 22 June 2024
Rise of the Resistance is, indeed, highly beloved by Disney Parks visitors — the wait for the ride often exceeds two hours.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 21 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for highly
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'highly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near highly
Cite this Entry
“Highly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/highly. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
highly
adverb
high·ly
ˈhī-lē 
1
: very entry 2 sense 1, extremely
highly pleased
2
: with approval
speaks highly of you
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