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mostly
/ˈmoʊstli/
for the greatest part
She mostly works from home.
She works from home more often than not.
general
for the greatest part; mainly
He mostly eats vegetables.
Vegetables make up the majority of his diet.
The movie was mostly boring.
Most of the movie was uninteresting.
Often used to indicate that something is true in most cases, though not always.
Collocations
mostly aboutprimarily concerningmostly inprimarily located in
Antonyms
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Common Usage
Use 'mostly' to describe something that is true in most cases but not always.
Gold Rule
Avoid Overuse
Use 'mostly' to emphasize the majority, but avoid it when 'usually' or 'generally' would be clearer.
Word Origin
From Middle English 'mostli', from 'most' + '-ly' (adverbial suffix).
Usage Notes
Can be used to soften a statement, indicating that something is generally true but not absolute.
Word Breakdown
most
greatest in amount or degree
root-ly
adverbial suffix
suffixEnglish Dictionary