ABSOLUTELY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does absolutely mean? 

• ABSOLUTELY (adverb)
  The adverb ABSOLUTELY has 2 senses:

1. completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers

2. totally and definitely; without question

  Familiarity information: ABSOLUTELY used as an adverb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABSOLUTELY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers

Synonyms:

absolutely; dead; perfectly; utterly

Context example:

dead right

Pertainym:

absolute (complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Totally and definitely; without question

Context example:

iron is absolutely necessary

Pertainym:

absolute (perfect or complete or pure)

 Context examples 

Now from this double point our research must commence, and we will begin it by presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I remember my father giving me a dollar once, when I was a little girl, for remaining absolutely quiet for five minutes.”

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

"The affairs of their clients are absolutely safe in the hands of Mitchell, Sons, & Candy."

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

My note to you was absolutely genuine.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Mr. Hungerton, her father, really was the most tactless person upon earth,—a fluffy, feathery, untidy cockatoo of a man, perfectly good-natured, but absolutely centered upon his own silly self.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When the throbbing I had seen before, came into it as I looked at her, she absolutely lifted up her hand, and struck it.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Being in or verging on a state of crisis or emergency; urgently needed; absolutely necessary.

(Critical, NCI Thesaurus)

Insulation failure manifests as low lead impedance either absolutely (below manufacturer's product specifications) or by a significant decrease from previously stable chronic values.

(Cardiac Lead Insulation Failure, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

While not absolutely required for catalysis of nucleotide exchange, the PH domain appears to greatly increase catalytic efficiency in many cases.

(DH Domain, NCI Thesaurus)