finally
- 1At the end of a long process or period of waiting; at last.
After years of negotiation, the two sides finally reached an agreement.
The rain finally stopped just as the game was about to be canceled.
UsageUsually just before the main verb: the rain finally stopped. On its own, Finally! greets something long awaited.
Similareventually
Oppositeinitially
Note
This is the time sense, built in Middle English from final plus -ly and once also spelled fynaly or fynaliche. Its natural partners are eventually and in the end, and its opposite is initially. It usually carries a sense of waiting rewarded, which separates it from the list-closing use, where nothing has been delayed, only counted.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Finally comes from Middle English, with spellings including fynaly and fynaliche, and is formed from final plus -ly. en.wiktionary.org
- 2Used to introduce the last point or item in a series of statements.
Finally, let me address the question everyone has been asking.
She gave three reasons and, finally, summarized her whole argument.
UsageUsually opens the sentence, with a comma: Finally, let me add. To end a list, say finally or lastly (not
incorrect: at last).Note
The word that closes a sequence, whether the points of a speech or the events of a story. A speaker puts it first, followed by a comma: "Finally, I'd like to thank…". A narrator uses it to land the end of a run, as Barbara Sleigh does in Jessamy (1967): crossness, incredulity, distress, "and finally delight." In both cases it marks a position in the series.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Barbara Sleigh wrote Jessamy, first published in 1967. openlibrary.org
- The narration lists crossness, incredulity and distress before the exact phrase “and finally delight.” en.wiktionary.org
- 3In a definitive and complete way that settles a matter for good, leaving nothing open.
The vote does not finally settle the matter, since the courts can still overturn it.
The treaty was meant to settle the border question finally, so that neither country could ever reopen it.
UsageUsually right beside its verb: finally settled, finally decided. Context shows whether it means for good or after a wait.
Similarcompletely, totally, entirely, fully, outright
Oppositeprovisionally, tentatively, partially
Note
Placed beside its verb, as in finally settled or to finally establish, it describes how something is done rather than when. That position is also where it blurs with the "at last" meaning: "the question has been finally settled" can mean settled after a wait or settled for good, and only context decides. Completely, thoroughly and totally are its nearer kin.
Less common meaning
- 4At bottom; when all factors are considered; in the most fundamental sense.
Good teaching depends, finally, on whether students trust the person in front of them.
It is, finally, a question of fairness rather than money.
UsageUsually set off by commas mid-sentence: it is, finally, a question of fairness. Close to ultimately.
Similarultimately, fundamentally, essentially, basically
Note
An argumentative finally that weighs a matter rather than counting steps, at home in essays and criticism. It typically sits between commas inside the clause, as in Egbert Schuurman's "Cyberneticism is, finally, a refined form of scientism" (2024). That mid-sentence position helps tell it from the list-closing use, which normally opens the sentence.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle English finally (also spelled fynaly, fynally), formed from final plus the suffix -ly.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Finally comes from Middle English finally. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English variant spellings include fynaly and fynally. en.wiktionary.org
- Finally was formed from final plus the suffix -ly. en.wiktionary.org