surely
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Related to surely: Slowly but Surely
sure·ly
(sho͝or′lē)adv.
1. With confidence; unhesitatingly.
2. Undoubtedly; certainly: You surely can't be serious.
3. Without fail: Slowly but surely spring returns.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
surely
(ˈʃʊəlɪ; ˈʃɔː-)adv
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) chiefly US and Canadian willingly; of course; yes
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
sure•ly
(ˈʃʊər li, ˈʃɜr-)adv.
1. firmly; unerringly.
2. undoubtedly, assuredly, or certainly.
3. (in emphatic utterances that are not necessarily sustained by fact) assuredly: Surely you are mistaken.
4. inevitably or without fail.
5. yes, indeed.
[1300–50]
usage: See sure.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
surely
– definitely – certainly – naturally1. 'surely'
You use surely for emphasis when you are objecting to something that has been said or done.
'I can have it ready for next week.' – 'Surely you can get it done sooner than that?'
Their lawyers claim that they have not broken any rules, but surely this is not good practice.
2. 'definitely' and 'certainly'
Don't use 'surely' simply to give strong emphasis to a statement. Use definitely.
They were definitely not happy.
The call definitely came from your phone.
In British English, you don't use 'surely' when you are agreeing with something that has been said, or confirming that something is true. Use certainly.
Ellie was certainly a student at the university but I'm not sure about her brother.
'You like him, don't you?' – 'I certainly do.'
American speakers use both surely and certainly to agree with requests and statements.
'It is still a difficult world for women.' – 'Oh, certainly.'
Surely, yes, I agree with that.
Don't use 'surely' to say emphatically that something will happen in the future. Use definitely or certainly.
The conference will definitely be postponed.
If nothing is done, there will certainly be problems.
3. 'naturally'
Don't use 'surely' to emphasize that something is what you would expect in particular circumstances. Use naturally.
His sister was crying, so naturally Sam was upset.
Naturally, some of the information will be irrelevant.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Adv. | 1. | surely - definitely or positively (`sure' is sometimes used informally for `surely'); "the results are surely encouraging"; "she certainly is a hard worker"; "it's going to be a good day for sure"; "they are coming, for certain"; "they thought he had been killed sure enough"; "he'll win sure as shooting"; "they sure smell good"; "sure he'll come" colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
surely
adverb
1. it must be the case that, without question, assuredly If I can accept this situation, surely you can?
2. undoubtedly, certainly, definitely, inevitably, doubtless, for certain, without doubt, unquestionably, inexorably, come what may, without fail, indubitably, doubtlessly, beyond the shadow of a doubt He knew that under the surgeon's knife he would surely die.
3. steadily, determinedly, doggedly, assuredly, unswervingly, unfalteringly He's recovering, slowly but surely.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
أكيد، مُحْتَمَل جِدابِالتَأْكِيدبدون شَك أو تَرَدُّدطَبعا، أكيد، بالتأكيد
jistěpřecespolehlivěurčitě
forhåbentlighelt sikkert
varmasti
svakako
auîvitaîörugglegavissulega ; eîa hvaî?
確かに
확실하게
gotovosevedazanesljivo
säkert
อย่างแน่นอน
một cách chắc chắn
surely
[ˈʃʊəlɪ] ADV1. (emphatic)
1.1. (in questions) surely there must be something we can do? → algo habrá que podemos hacer, ¿no?
1.2. (expressing opinion) there must surely be a more effective way of punishing such people → tiene que haber una forma más eficaz de castigar a esa clase de gente, digo or creo yo
surely it is better to steal than to starve → mejor será robar que pasar hambre, digo or creo yo
it is surely no coincidence that → digo or creo yo que no es una coincidencia que ...
surely it is better to steal than to starve → mejor será robar que pasar hambre, digo or creo yo
it is surely no coincidence that → digo or creo yo que no es una coincidencia que ...
1.3. (expressing surprise) surely you are not suggesting she did it on purpose? → no estarás insinuando que lo hizo a propósito ¿verdad?
surely it's obvious? → pero si es obvio, ¿no?
surely the logical thing would have been to change banks? → lo más lógico habría sido cambiar de banco, ¿no?
you surely don't think it was me! → ¡no pensarás que fui yo!
surely not → no puede ser
surely to God
surely to goodness surely to God that's what everyone wants → está claro que es eso lo que quiere todo el mundo ¿no?
surely to goodness that itself is reason enough to call the police → seguro que eso en sí mismo es motivo suficiente para llamar a la policía, ¿no?
surely it's obvious? → pero si es obvio, ¿no?
surely the logical thing would have been to change banks? → lo más lógico habría sido cambiar de banco, ¿no?
you surely don't think it was me! → ¡no pensarás que fui yo!
surely not → no puede ser
surely to God
surely to goodness surely to God that's what everyone wants → está claro que es eso lo que quiere todo el mundo ¿no?
surely to goodness that itself is reason enough to call the police → seguro que eso en sí mismo es motivo suficiente para llamar a la policía, ¿no?
2. (= undoubtedly) → sin duda
she was surely one of the greatest sopranos of all time → sin duda fue una de las sopranos más destacadas de todos los tiempos
justice will surely prevail → sin duda la justicia prevalecerá
he is an artist, just as surely as Rembrandt → es pintor, tan seguro como que lo era Rembrandt
his time will surely come → no cabe duda de que le llegará su momento
she was surely one of the greatest sopranos of all time → sin duda fue una de las sopranos más destacadas de todos los tiempos
justice will surely prevail → sin duda la justicia prevalecerá
he is an artist, just as surely as Rembrandt → es pintor, tan seguro como que lo era Rembrandt
his time will surely come → no cabe duda de que le llegará su momento
3. (US) (= of course) → por supuesto, ¡cómo no! (LAm)
"will you excuse me just a second?" - "surely" → -¿me permite un momento? -¡por supuesto! or (LAm) -¡cómo no!
"will you excuse me just a second?" - "surely" → -¿me permite un momento? -¡por supuesto! or (LAm) -¡cómo no!
4. (= safely, confidently) → con seguridad
he handles the issue surely but with sensitivity → maneja el asunto con seguridad y sensibilidad a la vez
slowly but surely → lento pero seguro
he handles the issue surely but with sensitivity → maneja el asunto con seguridad y sensibilidad a la vez
slowly but surely → lento pero seguro
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
surely
[ˈʃʊərli] advCollins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
surely
adv
→ bestimmt, sicher; surely you don’t mean it? → das meinen Sie doch bestimmt or sicher nicht (so)?; surely he’s come(, hasn’t he?) → er ist doch bestimmt gekommen(, oder?); surely he hasn’t come(, has he)? → er ist doch bestimmt or sicher nicht gekommen(, oder?); surely not! → das kann doch nicht stimmen!; surely someone must know the answer → irgendjemand muss doch die Antwort wissen; there must surely be something we can do → irgendetwas müssen wir doch (sicher) tun können; I can’t — oh, surely you can → ich kann (es) nicht — aber sicher kannst du das!; but surely you can’t expect us to believe that → Sie können doch wohl nicht erwarten, dass wir das glauben!; surely if a equals b, then c must … → also, wenn a gleich b ist, dann muss c doch sicherlich …; surely to God or goodness (inf) → sicherlich
(esp US: = gladly) → gern, mit Vergnügen
(= inevitably, with certainty) → zweifellos
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
surely
[ˈʃʊəlɪ] adv (certainly) → certamente, sicuramentesurely we've met before? → ma non ci siamo già incontrati?
surely you don't mean that! → non parlerai sul serio!
surely not! → ma non è possibile!
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
sure
(ʃuə) adjective1. (negative unsure) having no doubt; certain. I'm sure that I gave him the book; I'm not sure where she lives / what her address is; `There's a bus at two o'clock.' `Are you quite sure?'; I thought the idea was good, but now I'm not so sure; I'll help you – you can be sure of that!
2. unlikely to fail (to do or get something). He's sure to win; You're sure of a good dinner if you stay at that hotel.
3. reliable or trustworthy. a sure way to cure hiccups; a safe, sure method; a sure aim with a rifle.
adverb (especially American) certainly; of course. Sure I'll help you!; `Would you like to come?' `Sure!'
ˈsurely adverb1. used in questions, exclamations etc to indicate what the speaker considers probable. Surely she's finished her work by now!; You don't believe what she said, surely?
2. without doubt, hesitation, mistake or failure. Slowly but surely we're achieving our aim.
3. (in answers) certainly; of course. `May I come with you?' `Surely!'
ˈsureness nounˌsure-ˈfooted adjective
not likely to slip or stumble. Goats are sure-footed animals.
as sure as used in various phrases that mean `without fail' or `without doubt'. As sure as fate / anything / eggs are eggs, he'll be late again.
be sure to don't fail to. Be sure to switch off the television.
be/feel sure of oneself to be confident.
for sure definitely or certainly. We don't know for sure that he's dead.
make sure to act so that, or check that, something is certain or sure. Arrive early at the cinema to make sure of (getting) a seat!; I think he's coming today but I'll telephone to make sure (of that / that he is).
sure enough in fact, as was expected. I thought she'd be angry, and sure enough she was.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
surely
→ بِالتَأْكِيد jistě helt sikkert sicher ασφαλώς seguramente varmasti assurément svakako sicuramente 確かに 확실하게 ongetwijfeld sikkert pewnie certamente несомненно säkert อย่างแน่นอน muhakkak một cách chắc chắn 一定Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009