ultimately

English

Etymology

From ultimate +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈʌl.tɪ.mɪt.lɪ/, /ˈʌl.tɪ.mət.li/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈʌl.tɪ.mɪt.li/, [ˈʌl.tɪ.mɪɾ.li], IPA(key): /ˈʌl.tə.mət.li/[1]
  • (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈɐl.tɪ.mɪt.li/, [ˈɐl.tɪ.mɪɾ.li]
  • Hyphenation: ul‧tim‧ate‧ly

Adverb

ultimately (not comparable)

  1. Indicating the last item.
    Synonyms: at last, finally, in the end; see also Thesaurus:lastly
    Firstly,… Secondly,… Ultimately,…
  2. Indicating the most important action.
    Synonyms: at the end of the day, when all is said and done; see also Thesaurus:fundamentally
    Ultimately, he will have to make a decision before the end of the week.
  3. In the end; finally.
    • 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport[1]:
      That Wolves reached half-time on level terms had much to do with the ultimately luckless Hennessey, who was in action in the opening minute to tip away Samir Nasri's shot following a City corner.
  4. (linguistics) Used to indicate the etymon at which a given etymological derivation terminates.
    Cognate to Gottscheerish boßər, bàsser. Ultimately cognate to standard High German Wasser.
    Shortened from maxiature, ultimately from Latin maximus ("large").
    Ultimately from Latin equus ("horse").

Translations

References

Further reading