largely

adverb

large·​ly ˈlärj-lē How to pronounce largely (audio)
: in a large manner
especially : to a large extent : mostly, primarily
words largely unknown a decade ago

Examples of largely in a Sentence

The story is largely true. He is largely responsible for the problem. The economy is based largely on farming.
Recent Examples on the Web Previous biographers largely painted Wong as a tragic figure, according to Salisbury, overemphasizing rumors about her sexuality, her struggles with alcoholism and her decision to never marry. Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 21 Mar. 2024 The 2024 Oscars were largely devoid of shocking moments. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024 Women are also largely absent from leadership ranks in Japanese companies. Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 The country’s economy largely stagnated before declining last year, registering negative GDP growth of -0.3% in 2023. Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 21 Mar. 2024 The spending in the bill largely tracks with an agreement that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked out with the White House in May 2023, which restricted spending for two years and suspended the debt ceiling into January 2025 so the federal government could continue paying its bills. Kevin Freking, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2024 Early on, there was concern about the loss of parking spaces, but Rawson said that was largely resolved. Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 The Biden campaign largely brushed off the protest votes, saying the effort in Michigan had an artificially low goal, as the normal amount of uncommitted votes usually exceeds 10,000 without a concentrated campaign. Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 At the time, the disease was largely viewed as something that only affected gay men—and specifically white gay men—but Ralph knew that wasn’t the full story. Evette Dionne, SELF, 21 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'largely.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of largely was in the 13th century

Cite this Entry

“Largely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/largely. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

largely

adverb
large·​ly ˈlärj-lē How to pronounce largely (audio)
1
: generally sense 1
the story is largely true
2
: in a great amount
tipped the waiter largely

More from Merriam-Webster on largely

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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