highly

From Middle English hiȝly, heȝly, heyȝliche, from Old English hēalīce (“highly”), equivalent to high +‎ -ly. Cognate with Dutch hoogelijk (“highly”), German höchlich (“highly”), Danish højlig (“highly”), Swedish högligen (“highly”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪli

highly (comparative highlier or more highly, superlative highliest or most highly)

1. In a high or esteemed manner.

   He spoke highly of you.

2. Extremely; greatly; very much.

   He is in a highly visible job.

   The book was highly controversial yet sold unbelievably well.

   • 1952 March, R. K. Kirkland, “The Railways of Uxbridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 150:

     There are those who value a seat sufficiently highly that they prefer to make their daily journeys by the Western Region Vine Street line.

   • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

     Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.

   • 2024 September 6, Jordan Valinsky, “Ticket prices for the all-American men’s matchup at the US Open are surging”, in CNN‎^[1]:

     The highly anticipated all-American matchup between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe — marking the first US Open semifinals between two US men in nearly 20 years — will cost you quite a few Honey Deuces to attend.

• The adverb highly and the adverb high should not be confused.

  This is highly recommended.

  The stars were shining high above us.