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2
as in almost
very close to but not completely
I nearly fell down the stairs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of nearly
In 1816 the stratosphere was saturated with Tambora’s dust, and sea ice nearly wrecked Scoresby’s ship off the eastern coast of Greenland.
—
Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Since 2010, several quilt guilds across the nation have donated nearly 200 quilts to volunteers in various aging brain studies at UCSD.
—Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
The Boston Red Sox's infield for next season remains up in the air with question marks at nearly every position.
—Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
They would be married for nearly 70 years until Felicitas Jimenez’s death at 90 in January 2018.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nearly
Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Since 2010, several quilt guilds across the nation have donated nearly 200 quilts to volunteers in various aging brain studies at UCSD.
—Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
The Boston Red Sox's infield for next season remains up in the air with question marks at nearly every position.
—Shaun McAvoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
They would be married for nearly 70 years until Felicitas Jimenez’s death at 90 in January 2018.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nearly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nearly
Adverb
-
In the new role, Nguyen will work closely with Director, Talent Management Amanda Acevedo on overall talent strategy, growth and revenue across the company, while also serving as a senior leader for the team in the company’s Los Angeles office.—
Leia Mendoza,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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Green Mountain State residents voted in favor of Ocasio-Cortez and Newsom, with both landing 17 percent, and Buttigieg following closely behind with 16 percent.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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States, and now nonstate actors, have been engaging in wars of various kinds almost constantly since World War II.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
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This is one of the most popular portable heated blankets on Amazon, with almost 500 perfect ratings.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
Besides being one of the best ways to stay warm, puffer jackets are also unbelievably packable, much like this Eddie Bauer down jacket that has insulation for chilly days but can be folded or rolled to practically half its size.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
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The key to detecting them, then, wasn’t to simply build a detector sensitive enough to see each individual neutrino; that would be a practically impossible task.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nearly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nearly. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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