primarily

primarily

English

Etymology

primary +‎ -ly

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹaɪˈmɛɹəli/, /ˈpɹaɪmɛɹəli/

Adverb

primarily (not comparable)

1. (focus) Of a primary or central nature, first and foremost
   • 2015 January 1, Knapton, Sarah, “Most cancers are caused by bad luck not genes or lifestyle, say scientists”, in The Telegraph‎:

     But now a study has shown that most cancers are primarily caused by bad luck rather than poor lifestyle choices or defective DNA.

   • 2018 July 20, “Zika virus”, in World Health Organization‎:

     Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which bite during the day.

   • 2019 March 15, Melrose, Keith, “Our leading tipsters give their fancy for the Cheltenham Gold Cup”, in The Racing Post‎:

     Some Gold Cups are won primarily with class, others with stamina.

Synonyms

• by and large, chiefly, for the most part; see also Thesaurus:mostly or Thesaurus:above all

Translations

of a primary or central nature

Belarusian: галоўным чынам (halóŭnym čynam), пераважна (pjeravažna) Catalan: primàriament (ca) Crimean Tatar: esasen, esas olaraq, çoqusı Finnish: pääasiassa (fi), ensisijaisesti (fi), ennen muuta (fi), ennen kaikkea (fi) French: principalement (fr), essentiellement (fr), surtout (fr) Galician: primariamente Icelandic: aðallega (is), fyrst og fremst

Norwegian: Bokmål: primært Nynorsk: primært Romanian: în primul rând, înainte de toate, în principal Russian: гла́вным о́бразом (ru) (glávnym óbrazom) Spanish: primariamente Ukrainian: переважно (uk) (perevažno), головно (holovno)