English edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English derely, deorliche, from Old English dēorlīċe (worthily, richly), equivalent to dear +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

dearly (comparative more dearly or (rare) dearlier, superlative most dearly or (rare) dearliest)

  1. In a dear or precious manner.
    the funeral of our dearly beloved sister
  2. In a dear or expensive manner.
    a dearly priced item
  3. At great expense.
    He paid dearly for his mistake.
    • 2023 April 21, John Poulos, “Dominion’s C.E.O.: Why We Settled the Lawsuit Against Fox News”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      But I take solace in the fact that the public has seen the enormous mountain of evidence proving what Fox did, and Fox paid dearly for it.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

Anagrams edit