broadly

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.?

Proto-Germanic *braidaz

Proto-West Germanic *braid

Old English brād

Middle English brod

English broad

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English broadly

From broad + -ly.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɔːdli/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹoːdlɪj/
• (US)
  • (without the cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɔdli/

    • Audio (US, without the cot–caught merger):

      (file)

  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɑdli/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹoːdli/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾɔdle/
• (Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾɔːdli/

Adverb

broadly (comparative more broadly, superlative most broadly)

1. Widely and openly.
   • 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 16:

     [W]hen he caught sight of her running towards him like that, he smiled broadly.

2. Broadly speaking; in a wide manner; liberally; in a loose sense.
   • 1958 January, 'Borderer', “Ten Years of British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 13:

     All these were based broadly on the management framework of the old companies, except that the former Southern and North Eastern Areas of the old L.N.E.R. became separate management units, while the former L.M.S.R. and L.N.E.R. lines north of the Border were fused into a self-contained Scottish Region.

   • 2018 January 25, Amelia Gentleman, “Men-only clubs and menace: how the establishment maintains male power”, in The Guardian‎^[1], archived from the original on 26 April 2021:

     While companies are bravely talking about their efforts to redress the gender pay gap (large employers will be compelled to report details of how they pay their male and female staff in April), we know that women are, on average, much worse paid than men throughout the City. Broadly, power remains in men’s hands.

   • 2020 April 8, Chris Cillizza, “Why Joe Biden starts as the general election front-runner”, in CNN‎^[2], archived from the original on 23 May 2025:

     That’s broadly consistent with the Real Clear Politics average of all general election matchups between the two; RCP shows Biden with an average of a 6-point lead over Sanders.

Translations

broadly speaking — see broadly speaking

Anagrams

• Bolyard, ladybro, lardboy