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Purely vs Solely - What's the difference?

purely | solely | Synonyms |

As adverbs the difference between purely and solely

is that purely is wholly; really, completely while solely is alone; exclusively.

purely

English

Adverb

(en adverb)
  • * 1962 , , Flush Times :
  • I am fascinated by the entire scene, I purely am.
  • Solely; exclusively; merely, simply.
  • * 2005 , Owen Bowcott, The Guardian , 8 Apr 2005:
  • The IRA should "lead by example" and "unilaterally" abandon paramilitary violence and adopt a purely political strategy, a leading Sinn Féin MP urged yesterday.
  • * 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:
  • 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.
  • * 1823 , (Samuel Taylor Coleridge), Table Talk :
  • 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 [...].
    English manner adverbs English degree adverbs English focus adverbs

    solely

    English

    Adverb

    (-)
  • Alone; exclusively.
  • The new chef was solely responsible for attending the grill.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 20, author=Nina Bernstein, title=Storm Bared a Lack of Options for the Homeless in New York, work=New York Times citation
  • , passage=This week, officials closed all evacuation centers but two on Staten Island. Now they plan to rely solely on hotels, even as they brace for a new wave of people displaced from storm-damaged housing where they are facing winter without heat or hot water.}}