Purely vs Essentially - What's the difference?
purely | essentially | Synonyms |
* 1962 , , Flush Times :
Solely; exclusively; merely, simply.
* 2005 , Owen Bowcott, The Guardian , 8 Apr 2005:
* 2007 , ‘(Helen Brooks)’, His Christmas Bride :
*:"But this meal tonight is not a date, not in the traditional sense. It's purely platonic, I assure you."
Chastely, innocently; in a sinless manner, without fault.
* 1623 , (William Shakespeare), Troilus and Cressida , First Folio, IV.7:
* 1823 , (Samuel Taylor Coleridge), Table Talk :
In an essential manner; in essence.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03
, author=(Henry Petroski)
, title=Opening Doors
, volume=100, issue=2, page=112-3
, magazine=
Purely is a synonym of essentially.
As adverbs the difference between purely and essentially
is that purely is while essentially is in an essential manner; in essence.purely
English
Adverb
(en adverb)- I am fascinated by the entire scene, I purely am.
- The IRA should "lead by example" and "unilaterally" abandon paramilitary violence and adopt a purely political strategy, a leading Sinn Féin MP urged yesterday.
- faith and troth, / Strain'd purely from all hollow bias drawing: / Bids thee with most diuine integritie, / From heart of very heart, great Hector welcome.
- By some means or other the water flows purely , and separated from the filth, in a deeper and narrower course on one side of the rock, and the refuse of the dirt and troubled water goes off on the other in a broader current [...].
essentially
English
Adverb
(en adverb)citation, passage=A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. Applying a force tangential to the knob is essentially equivalent to applying one perpendicular to a radial line defining the lever.}}