really
part of speech
adverb
meaning for a pupil
1) In fact, truly: «Is it really true?» tree →
2) Very: «really hot». tree →
3) Used to show surprise or doubt: «Really?» tree →
4) Used to make a statement softer or stronger: «I don't really like it.» tree →
5) (casual) «Really?!» or «srsly» (texting) is annoyed surprise: you can't be serious. tree →
6) (casual, sarcastic) «Oh, really?» means I don't believe you; «Really, Tom?» means I am disappointed in you. tree →
7) (casual, UK) «Not really» is a polite soft no. tree →
8) (formal) «Genuinely», «indeed», «in fact», «exceedingly» and «considerably» are stiff words for really. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday talk, «really» adds strength or asks if something is true. In reading, «Really?» shows a character's surprise. In science: what really happens versus what seems to happen. In casual talk: «really?!», «srsly», «not really». In the exam voice: «indeed», «in fact», «considerably greater». Phrases: not really, really and truly, really?, I really mean it.
examples
- AL ChI H OULMIM; ''the Living God of Ages," here the word God really is in the singular. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- The whole (arly history of Pythagoreanism is therefore conjectural, and all we really know of the school is what wc are told by Aristotle". (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
- In spite of the numerous works written on Hebrew orthography since the beginning of the tenth century, there is not one which may be considered as really based on the Hebrew. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
- It's really cold today. tree →
- Did you really see a whale? tree →
- «I won!» «Really?» tree →
- I don't really like broccoli. tree →
- She really wants a puppy. tree →
- What really happened? tree →
- That was really kind of you. tree →
- The sun doesn't really move; the Earth spins. tree →
- srsly?? only 2 cookies left out of 12? (casual) tree →
- «I did my homework.» «Oh, really? Show me.» (sarcastic) tree →
- Really? You broke it again? Bloody hell. (rough) tree →
- The second quantity is considerably greater than the first; determine by how much. (formal exam) tree →
- I really cannot squeeze myself through!” tree →
note
Two l's: «really». «Not really» means «not much» or a soft «no». In writing, «really» + adjective is fine, but try stronger words sometimes: «freezing» instead of «really cold». «Really?» can be real surprise or doubt — read the tone. Formal «considerably» = really (a lot); «indeed» = really (truly). It does not change the numbers.
In the corpora
- If prices rise and pay doesn't, a person is really getting poorer each year.
- A crush means really liking someone and thinking about them a lot; it is a private feeling and often passes.
- Knowing how money, work and choices really work now makes the big steps much less scary later.
- The secret of reliable people is to only promise what they can really do.
- If you are really worried about a child being unsafe, tell a trusted adult instead of turning it into gossip.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «really» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.