adv. in essence; at bottom or by one's (or its) very nature; "He is basically dishonest"; "the argument was essentially a technical one"; "for all his bluster he is in essence a shy person"

adv. (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; "I was near exhausted by the run"; "most everyone agrees"

adv. (of quantities) imprecise but fairly close to correct; "lasted approximately an hour"; "in just about a minute"; "he's about 30 years old"; "I've had about all I can stand"; "we meet about once a month"; "some forty people came"; "weighs around a hundred pounds"; "roughly $3,000"; "holds 3 gallons, more or less"; "20 or so people were at the party"

adv. in a practical manner; "practically orientated institutions such as business schools"; "a brilliant man but so practically inept that he needed help to cross the road safely"

adv. for the most part; "he is mainly interested in butterflies"

adv. in an original manner

adv. of primary import; "this is primarily a question of economics"; "it was in the first place a local matter"