nearly

[neer-lee] /ˈnɪər li/

adverb

all but; almost:

nearly dead with cold.

with close approximation:

a nearly perfect likeness.

with close agreement or resemblance:

a plan nearly like our own.

with close kinship, interest, or connection; intimately:

nearly associated in business; two women nearly related.

Origin

1530-40; near + -ly

Synonyms

1. See almost. 4. closely.

Examples from the web for nearly

Put into a preserving kettle, and add enough water to nearly cover.
Lobsters taste nearly the same when placed in dripping-pan and baked fifteen minutes in hot oven, and are much easier cooked.
Where the second or third stands alone, it is nearly always wrong.
Add one and three-fourths cups tomatoes, and cook until moisture has nearly evaporated.
Fruit and vegetables should be fresh, free from decay, and as nearly uniform in shape and state of ripeness as is possible.
We had made nearly sixteen kilometres in a direction slightly east of north.
They were nearly all of them forms related to the newts of to-day, and some of them attained a considerable size.
Each is directed across the crus of the diaphragm, so as to form nearly a right angle with the aorta.
The nerves which form it are nearly equal in size, but their mode of communication is subject to some variation.
Over our lifetime nearly one half of us suffer from such disorders.

British Dictionary definitions for nearly

/ˈnɪəlɪ/

adverb

not quite; almost; practically

not nearly, nowhere near; not at all: not nearly enough money

closely: the person most nearly concerned

Word Origin and History for nearly

adv.

1530s, "carefully;" sense of "almost, all but" is from 1680s; see near + -ly (2).