deeply
- 1To a great degree; very much or intensely.
The community was deeply affected by the factory's closure.
He remained deeply committed to the cause throughout his life.
Similarprofoundly, greatly, seriously, strongly, intensely
Oppositeslightly, superficially
Note
The everyday intensifier for feeling, attitude and privacy: deeply concerned, deeply regret, deeply personal. Unlike very, it can modify a verb as well as an adjective, so I deeply regret works where very cannot. The word goes back to Old English dēoplīċe, deep plus -ly, and once took its own endings. Tennyson still writes 'loved deeplier' in In Memoriam (1850). Today the usual comparative is more deeply.
- 2In a profound manner rather than a superficial one.
The philosopher engaged deeply with questions of meaning and morality.
She listened deeply, trying to grasp far more than the words alone.
Similarprofoundly, seriously, thoroughly, intently
Oppositesuperficially
- 3Far down or well inside something.
The drill bored deeply into the bedrock.
Her fingers pressed deeply into the soft clay.
Similarfar
- 4
- 5At or to a considerable depth below the surface.
The cables run deeply below the city streets.
These minerals form deeply within the earth's crust.
Note
Here the adverb marks where an action happens, not how far something reaches. Salmon that swim deeply keep low in the water rather than boring down through it. That separates it from the 'reaching far down' meaning, which describes penetration, as in a deeply cratered surface. Ask whether something goes in or simply stays down there: the second is this sense.
- 6Richly, with strong saturation of color.
The fabric was dyed deeply crimson.
The wine glowed deeply purple in the candlelight.
Note
Color and taste share this kind of intensity: a deeply flavored curry, deeply hennaed hair. The adverb usually sits before a participle or adjective naming a hue or a flavor, and it signals richness and saturation rather than mere darkness. Carl Ruhen's The Key Club (1968) shows how close the two can run, with deeply hennaed hair 'almost black at the roots.'
- 7In large volume, taking in a large amount at a time.
The diver breathed deeply before submerging.
They drank deeply after the long hike through the heat.
Oppositeshallowly
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English depely, from Old English dēoplīċe ("deeply"), an adverb formed from dēoplīc ("deep"); essentially deep plus -ly.