1
as in originally
in the beginning
the university was primarily an agricultural college when it was founded over two centuries ago
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in mainly
for the most part
ketchup is primarily made from tomatoes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of primarily
Measles outbreaks continue to occur in West Texas, so far primarily among those who haven’t gotten the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
—
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
And a lot of it. Applying an overly generous amount of blush has emerged as the trend of the 2020s, primarily as a way to make a statement with even the most subtle makeup.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2025
The main avenue is the Film Investment Refund Switzerland (PICS), which primarily focuses on Swiss-international co-productions and is administered by the Federal Office of Culture.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 5 Apr. 2025
The emergency designation covers 176,000 square miles of terrain primarily in the West but also in the South, around the Great Lakes and in New England.
—Matthew Brown, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
And a lot of it. Applying an overly generous amount of blush has emerged as the trend of the 2020s, primarily as a way to make a statement with even the most subtle makeup.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2025
The main avenue is the Film Investment Refund Switzerland (PICS), which primarily focuses on Swiss-international co-productions and is administered by the Federal Office of Culture.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 5 Apr. 2025
The emergency designation covers 176,000 square miles of terrain primarily in the West but also in the South, around the Great Lakes and in New England.
—Matthew Brown, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primarily
Recent Examples of Synonyms for primarily
Adverb
-
However, Daniels said that contract was signed by the conferences, Notre Dame and BCS Properties LLC—a legacy entity originally formed to manage the Bowl Championship Series media rights and that continues to serve as the intellectual property rights holder for the CFP brand.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Andor star Diego Luna recently recalled that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) director Gareth Edwards originally pitched him on the film by comparing his vision to Cuarón’s Y tu mamá también (2001), which starred a young Luna.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Adverb
-
Shah mainly prioritizes user experience, offers trustworthy course reviews, and creates detailed guides to build credibility and trust on the platform.—
Craig Lebrau,
USA Today,
6 Apr. 2025
-
This was more or less budgeted for last summer, mainly because of the departure of Toni Kroos and the arrival of Mbappe as a free agent.—
Mario Cortegana,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Adverb
-
The Knicks have been mostly healthy, leading to their stellar season.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Giamatti plays Lawrence’s partner, Agent Jonathan Maxwell, mostly serving as the straight man to Big Momma.—
William Earl,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2025
Adverb
-
Reagan ran for his first office, that governorship, chiefly on that platform, of gutting Berkeley, glorious, research-prodigious, most incredible public university ever Berkeley.—
Brian Domitrovic,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
-
Lawmakers chiefly are trying to work out the delicate balance of extending Trump’s tax cuts, trimming Medicaid, increasing defense spending and raising the debt ceiling — without losing votes needed to pass Trump’s priorities and while finding room for agreement with the House.—
Elizabeth Crisp,
The Hill,
4 Apr. 2025
Adverb
-
Interestingly, the benefit was restricted to those who consumed predominantly dark chocolate, who experienced whopping 21% decrease in developing Type 2 diabetes.—
Paul Hsieh,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
In the final episode of When Life Gives You Tangerines, the precious agony of being alive is borne out in the death of Gwan-sik (played predominantly by Park Hae-joon in these final episodes), Ae-sun’s beloved husband and Geum-myeong and Eun-myeong’s dad.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
28 Mar. 2025
Adverb
-
For the Celtics, there were 24 points from Brown but only 16 from Tatum, who struggled to 4-of-17 shooting, largely against the defense of Larsson.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2025
-
This collective effort is crucial for defending sectors like energy, healthcare, finance and critical infrastructure, which are largely managed by private companies.—
Israel Martinez,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Primarily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/primarily. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share