Meanings
chiefly1
comparative more chiefly · superlative most chiefly
- focusEspecially or primarily; above all.
Their relationship is chiefly professional.
2 more examples
This is a term chiefly used by online gamers.
But questions presisted^([sic]), chiefly because of the acknowledged and continuing Federal investigation of Mr. Mandel's wealthy friends, W. Dale Hess and Harry W. Rogers 3d, who have profited from business with the state.
1975 July 7, Ben A. Franklin, “MANDEL INQUIRY STIRS MARYLAND”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2024Synonyms: first and foremost
chiefly2
comparative chieflier · superlative chiefliest
- Of or relating to a chief.
The maintenance of a perpetual fire came to be associated with chiefly or royal dignity.
1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 261
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbEspecially or primarily; above all.
adverbMainly or principally; almost entirely.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbfor the most part
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
chiefly · adverb
- Middle Englishchefly
- Englishchiefly
From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix).
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →chiefly · adjective
From chief + -ly (adjectival suffix). Piecewise doublet of chefly and headly.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μάλιστα, ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ
- μάλιστα (málista)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ (hōs epì tò polú)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Arabic غَالِبًا
- غَالِبًا (ḡāliban)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Bulgarian главно, предимно
- главно (glavno)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- предимно (predimno)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Catalan principalment
- principalmentmainly or principally, almost entirely
Chinese Mandarin 主要地
- 主要地 (zhǔyào de)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Czech hlavně
- hlavněmainly or principally, almost entirely
Danish hovedsagelig, især
- hovedsageligmainly or principally, almost entirely
- isærmainly or principally, almost entirely
- navnligmainly or principally, almost entirely
- primærtmainly or principally, almost entirely
Dutch voornamelijk
- voornamelijkmainly or principally, almost entirely
Esperanto ĉefe
- ĉefemainly or principally, almost entirely
Finnish eritoten, pääosin
- eritotenespecially or primarily; above all
- pääosinmainly or principally, almost entirely
- suurimmaksi osaksimainly or principally, almost entirely
- pääasiassamainly or principally, almost entirely
- etupäässämainly or principally, almost entirely
- pääasiallisestimainly or principally, almost entirely
- pitkältimainly or principally, almost entirely
French surtout
- surtoutmainly or principally, almost entirely
German hauptsächlich
- hauptsächlichmainly or principally, almost entirely
Greek κυρίως
- κυρίως (kyríos)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Hungarian főleg, főként
- főlegespecially or primarily; above all
- főkéntespecially or primarily; above all
- főképpespecially or primarily; above all
- főképpenespecially or primarily; above all
- nagyrésztmainly or principally, almost entirely
- jórésztmainly or principally, almost entirely
Italian principalmente
- principalmentemainly or principally, almost entirely
Japanese おもに, 主に
- おもに (omo ni)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- 主に (omo ni)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Korean 주로
- 주로 (juro)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Norwegian Bokmål hovedsakelig, primært
- hovedsakeligmainly or principally, almost entirely
- primærtmainly or principally, almost entirely
- for det mestemainly or principally, almost entirely
Polish przede wszystkim, głównie
- przede wszystkimespecially or primarily; above all
- główniemainly or principally, almost entirely
Portuguese principalmente, especialmente
- principalmentemainly or principally, almost entirely
- especialmentemainly or principally, almost entirely
Romanian mai ales, mai cu seamă
- mai alesmainly or principally, almost entirely
- mai cu seamămainly or principally, almost entirely
- îndeosebimainly or principally, almost entirely
- în principalmainly or principally, almost entirely
Russian в основно́м, осо́бенно
- в основно́м (v osnovnóm)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- осо́бенно (osóbenno)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- пе́рвоочерёдно rare (pérvoočerjodno)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- literarymainly or principally, almost entirely
- в пе́рвую о́чередь (v pérvuju óčeredʹ)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Spanish mayormente, máxime
- mayormenteespecially or primarily; above all
- máximeespecially or primarily; above all
Swedish huvudsakligen, företrädesvis
- huvudsakligenmainly or principally, almost entirely
- företrädesvismainly or principally, almost entirely
- i synnerhetmainly or principally, almost entirely
Ukrainian в основно́му, головни́м чи́ном
- в основно́му (v osnovnómu)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- головни́м чи́ном (holovným čýnom)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- особли́во (osoblývo)mainly or principally, almost entirely
- в пе́ршу чергу́ (v péršu čerhú)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Yiddish דער עיקר
- דער עיקר (der iker)mainly or principally, almost entirely
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with chiefly
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
chiefly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chiefly
“chiefly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chiefly. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chiefly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chiefly.
Source: chiefly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.