precisely

adverb

pre·​cise·​ly pri-ˈsīs-lē 

1

: in a precise manner : exactly

weighing ingredients precisely

This incremental adjustment is continued until the bubble is precisely centered.

—Barry F. Kavanagh

—often used to emphasize the precision of something (such as a measurement, time, description, etc.)

The sample weighed precisely 6 ounces.

We arrived at precisely two o'clock.

She always knows precisely what to do.

He was popular precisely because he was so kind.

She always woke at eight precisely.

—P. G. Wodehouse

It is precisely to counter this sort of "negative advertising" that the garbage industry has lately been working hard to change its image.

—Elizabeth Royte

2

: quite so

—used to confirm emphatically that what has been said or suggested is exactly correct

"So you think the system is outdated?" "Precisely."

Synonyms of precisely

• just
• right
• exactly

Examples of precisely in a Sentence

I feel precisely the same way as you do.

measured the length of the board precisely

Recent Examples on the Web

These nuclei absorb laser light only when the frequency is precisely matched, allowing any decrease in absorption to trigger an automatic frequency readjustment. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026

That’s precisely the kind of broad experience job-hopping once helped young workers build—and an opportunity that is narrowing for recent grads. — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026

Discipline has become starker even as—or precisely because—the normative claims behind it have become more suspect. — Via Haymarket Books, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026

Its maximum totality will occur just southeast of Luxor, Egypt — precisely 16 seconds short of the maximum duration on July 22, 2009. — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for precisely

• concisely
• nicely