surely
advUS /ˈʃʊɹli/ · /ˈʃɔːli/
Etymology From Middle English surely; equivalent to sure + -ly.
1
Without fail.
- slowly but surely
2
Certainly, undoubtedly.
Sentence adverb
- Surely, you must be joking.
- You don’t suppose we're going to pay for you, surely?
4 more examples
- She’s surely got the letter by now.
- But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window[…].1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
- The money feels good / And your life you like it well / But surely your time will come / As in heaven, as in hell1979, Paul Simonon, “The Guns of Brixton”, performed by The Clash:
- Ted Striker: The stewardess said... both pilots?! Dr. Rumack: Can you fly this plane and land it? Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious. Dr. Rumack: I am serious; and don't call me Shirley.1980, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Airplane! (motion picture), Leslie Nielsen and Robert Hays (actors):
3
With confidence.
- His feet were planted surely on the ground.
- Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us[…].1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:1:
- Derived terms
- almost surely