technically
part of speech
adverb (technically)
meaning for a pupil
1) Technically means according to the exact rules or facts, even if it doesn't seem that way in everyday life, as in "Technically, a tomato is a fruit". tree →
2) Technically means relating to skill or method, as in "technically brilliant". tree →
3) Technically can mean connected with machines, science or technology. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, "technically" is used for strict definitions (technically a spider is not an insect). In sport and music, a performance can be technically perfect. In everyday arguments, children say "technically" to win a point using the exact rules. Phrases: "technically speaking", "technically correct", "technically possible".
examples
- Technically, a tomato is a fruit because it has seeds. tree →
- Technically speaking, a spider is not an insect. tree →
- The dancer is technically brilliant. tree →
- "You said I couldn't eat the biscuits — technically, I only ate one!" tree →
- It's technically possible to walk there, but it would take all day. tree →
- The film was technically impressive with amazing special effects. tree →
note
Adjective: technical. "Technically" often signals that the next point is true by strict rules but may not be what people mean in normal talk, so it can sound like a clever excuse. Spelled with -ically.
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «technically» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.