adv B2 Upper-Intermediate Uncommon

finely

FYN-lee

Finely (adv) means Into small, thin, or delicate pieces. Example: “Chop the garlic finely before adding it to the pan.”

adv

Into small, thin, or delicate pieces.

"Chop the garlic finely before adding it to the pan."

In an elegant, skilful, or high-quality way.

"The room was finely decorated with antique furniture."

How to use finely

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither "into small pieces" (as in cooking) or "elegantly/skilfully."

Common pairings

finely chopped finely tuned finely crafted

finelier comparative, more finely comparative, fineliest superlative, most finely superlative

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Chop the garlic _____ before adding it to the pan.

From Middle English finely, fynely, fynly, fineliche, finliche, fynliche, equivalent to fine + -ly.

Origin: Middle English

fine delicately exquisitely

good fine beautiful OK ill ticket alright penalty

rely comely lonely timely lovely homely widely lively lately rarely barely likely

What does “finely” mean?

The word “finely” means into small, thin, or delicate pieces. In plain terms, either "into small pieces" (as in cooking) or "elegantly/skilfully.".

How do you pronounce “finely”?

“Finely” is pronounced FYN-lee (/ˈfaɪnli/ in IPA).

How do you use “finely” in a sentence?

Here is “finely” used in a sentence: “Chop the garlic finely before adding it to the pan.”

What part of speech is “finely”?

“Finely” is an adverb.

Is “finely” a common word?

“Finely” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

How many meanings does “finely” have?

“Finely” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: into small, thin, or delicate pieces.

good fine beautiful OK ill ticket alright penalty