surely
[
sh
oo
r
-lee,
shur
-]
/ˈʃʊər li, ˈʃɜr-/
adverb
1.
firmly; unerringly; without missing, slipping, etc.
2.
undoubtedly, assuredly, or certainly:
The results are surely encouraging.
3.
(in emphatic utterances that are not necessarily sustained by fact) assuredly:
Surely you are mistaken.
4.
inevitably or without fail:
Slowly but surely the end approached.
5.
yes, indeed:
Surely, I'll go with you!
Origin
1300-50;
Middle English
surliche.
See
sure
,
-ly
Usage note
2.
See
sure.
Examples from the web for
surely
The myth was that if you ate enough, you'd
surely
return.
As
surely
as the gardener's focus shifts from fall to winter, it shifts from outdoors to indoors.
Then, slowly but
surely
, the rest of their plans took shape.
The divine power moves with difficulty, but at the same time
surely
.
But if the past is any guide, this prediction will almost
surely
be wrong.
surely
the artificial fractures won't play a role in seismic activity.
surely
those stakes warrant the humble, humanistic study of what essentially lies beyond reason's authority.
surely
some of those students were great in one or more important ways.
Anyone who has watched toddlers playing and squabbling has
surely
reached the same conclusion about humans.
Those of us in higher education
surely
know that from our own experiences.
British Dictionary definitions for
surely
surely
/
ˈʃʊəlɪ;
ˈʃɔː-
/
adverb
1.
without doubt; assuredly:
things could surely not have been worse
2.
without fail; inexorably (esp in the phrase
slowly but surely
)
3.
(
sentence modifier
) am I not right in thinking that?; I am sure that:
surely you don't mean it?
4.
(
rare
) in a sure manner
5.
(
archaic
) safely; securely
6.
(
sentence substitute
) (
mainly US & Canadian
) willingly; of course; yes
Word Origin and History for
surely
adv.
14c., from
sure
(adj.) +
-ly
(2).