fully

Fully is an English adverb meaning to the greatest extent or completely. It modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and is used to express thoroughness or total completeness. Examples include fully understand, fully equipped, fully aware. While often synonymous with completely or totally, fully tends to add emphasis on the extent or sufficiency of the described state, and it appears frequently in formal, technical, or descriptive prose.

Origin and pronunciation: Fully derives from the adjective full, with the standard adverb-forming suffix -ly. The word appears in English after the Old English period, formed through regular derivation from full. The pronunciation is typically pronounced as “FOO-lee” in General American, with the first syllable carrying the primary stress.

Usage and collocations: In everyday language, fully is used before adjectives or past participles: fully grown, fully responsible, fully understood. It also forms part of many compound expressions such as fully automatic, fully funded, fully integrated, and fully fledged. In legal or formal contexts, it emphasizes completeness or sufficiency; its antonyms are partly or partially. The choice between fully and other intensifiers can convey subtle nuances of emphasis and formality.

See also: Full, fullness, fully formed, fully fledged.