Human-verified examples from authoritative sources
Exact Expressions
60 human-written examples
After a short interval, another pair appeared, and constructed a habitation, chiefly with materials purloined from the other nests.
She delivers certain lines with relish – when she tells her would-be suitor Gabriel Oak: "I hate to be thought men's property" and, when faced with another, William Boldwood, she murmurs pointedly: "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs".
By the time the international team stopped, after a 5-2 win against Slovakia, Walter, still chiefly a centre-forward (as his younger brother Otmar would become), had missed only a couple of games, and scored another 19 goals.
Like a pimped-up Bargain Hunt or Cash in the Attic with attitude, Storage Hunters UK is chiefly memorable for its presenter Sean Kelly's idiosyncratic auctioneering style and contestants charmless enough to make the wannabes on The Apprentice look like people you'd want to spend time with.
The terrain beyond the city fringe is chiefly understood in terms of large generic units ("field", "hill", "valley", "wood").
It speaks for those who have never left, as well as those who have abandoned, limestone country: "If it form the one landscape that we, the inconstant ones,/ Are constantly homesick for, this is chiefly/ Because it dissolves in water".
Of course the rise of the Scottish Nationalists was critical, but chiefly because the idea of a Labour government dependent on the SNP fed into pre-existing fears, among English voters especially, that Labour's leader was weak and that the party could not be trusted with the economy.
That approach has been controversial with some of its Nato allies, chiefly Britain and the United States, who argue that handing over cash only encourages further abductions and can end up funding terror attacks.
Before becoming Plaid's leader, Wood was chiefly famed for an episode in 2004, when she upset some members of the Welsh Assembly by referring to the Queen as "Mrs Windsor", and found herself temporarily excluded from proceedings.
What this bizarre episode chiefly illustrates, I think, is the dismal editorial conditions prevailing in contemporary British (and American) publishing houses, and the desperation rife among editorial cohorts at the pressures under which they are forced to operate.
I'll never stop cycling, chiefly because it is such a blissfully solitary exercise.
How to use
Learn how to use "chiefly" with practical examples and tips.
How to useThe adverb "chiefly" modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to indicate the primary or principal reason, aspect, or manner of something. It clarifies the most significant element, as seen in Ludwig's examples where actions or characteristics are predominantly attributed to a specific cause.
Expression frequency: Very common
