chiefly

[cheef-lee] /ˈtʃif li/

adverb

primarily; essentially:

He phoned chiefly to let us know he was feeling better.

mainly; mostly:

This dish consists chiefly of noodles.

adjective

of, pertaining to, or like a chief:

his chiefly responsibilities.

Origin

1300-50; Middle English; see chief, -ly

Synonyms

1, 2. See especially.

Examples from the web for chiefly

Their goal: to draft an agreement that will limit global warming, chiefly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The font will be chiefly used by teenagers who take on the honor of baptizing ancestors.
Most cases are diagnosed after birth now, but if the blood test is widely adopted it could become chiefly a prenatal event.
The latest scores are chiefly based on results from the last three model years.
But chiefly the sea-shore has been the point of departure to knowledge, as to commerce.
As long as viruses replicated chiefly through disk exchanges, it could take a year for one to spread around the world.
They arc chiefly concerned with the moral objection to punishment by killing.
But it has been more difficult to demonstrate other suspected connections, chiefly that of noise-related stress to heart disease.
The answer is no, but that is chiefly because deterrence theory wasn't satisfactorily tested.
As a result, the case made here rests chiefly on deduction.

British Dictionary definitions for chiefly

/ˈtʃiːflɪ/

adverb

especially or essentially; above all

in general; mainly; mostly

adjective

of or relating to a chief or chieftain

Word Origin and History for chiefly

adv.

"pre-eminently," mid-14c., from chief + -ly (2). Adjectival meaning "pertaining to a chief" is from 1870 (from -ly (1)).