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surely

adverb
SHUUR-lee/ˈʃʊɹli/UKSHAW-lee/ˈʃɔːli/

3 meanings of surely

Practice

  1. 1
    must be trueadverb
    Used to show that the speaker firmly believes something is true, often to ask for agreement or to express surprise that it might not be.

    Surely you recall meeting her at the conference last spring.

    There has to be a better answer; surely we haven't exhausted every option.

    UsageIt shows belief, not proof: surely you know means "you know, don't you?" For plain certainty, use certainly.

    Similarcertainly, undoubtedly

    Note

    A comment on the whole clause, not on any one verb, and it travels freely. It can open the sentence (Surely you must be joking), sit inside it (She's surely got the letter by now), or close a question after a comma. It usually invites agreement rather than reporting proof, as when Richard Jefferies reasons that surely no modern mortal could hold his flintlock steady. Compare the manner sense, which describes how something is done.

    Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Richard Jefferies reasons that no modern mortal could have held the flintlock steady in The Amateur Poacher. gutenberg.org
  2. 2
    without failadverb
    In a way that cannot fail; reliably and without exception.

    The glacier grinds surely and steadily down the valley, a little farther every year.

    Step by step, she slowly but surely completed the entire project.

    UsageOften in the set phrase slowly but surely.

    Similarinevitably, reliably

  3. 3
    confidentlyadverb
    In a confident, assured manner, without hesitation.

    The climber moved surely from one handhold to the next.

    The old sailor tied each knot quickly and surely, his fingers moving without a moment's hesitation.

    UsageUsually after the verb or its object, often paired: quickly and surely, steadily and surely.

    Similarconfidently, assuredly, firmly

    Oppositehesitantly, uncertainly, tentatively

    Note

    The King James Bible of 1611 grades it with most, in things most surely believed. That is the familiar pattern, though surelier and sureliest are also recorded forms.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English surely, formed from sure combined with the suffix -ly.

Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 2 facts