Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

basically

/ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.63 in modern English

Syllables: ba-si-cal-ly
IPA: /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

In a fundamental, essential or basic manner.

adv

Essentially; mostly; pretty much.

adv

Used to refer to the most important or fundamental point that the speaker is making or to indicate a generalization or simplification; sometimes tending towards a meaningless filler word.

Example Sentences

"They've added some fancy features, but it's basically still a crappy car."
"I shouldn't have done it, basically."
"To get your eyes tested, you should basically go to the optician's."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *gʷémtis Proto-Hellenic *gʷə́tis Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs)bor. Latin basis Old French basebor. Middle English base English base Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English basic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly Middle English -ally English -ally English basically From basic + -ally.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/
British English: /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/

Inflected Forms

more basically (comparative) most basically (superlative)

Derived Forms

baso

Synonyms

essentially fundamentally chiefly more often than not

Questions

How do you pronounce basically?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/.
What does basically mean?: In a fundamental, essential or basic manner.
Where does basically come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *gʷémtis Proto-Hellenic *gʷə́tis Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs)bor. Latin basis Old French basebor. Middle English base English base Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English basic Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly Middle English -ally English -ally English basically From basic + -ally.

How to pronounce basically

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈbeɪ.sɪk.(ə.)li/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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