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surely |
Also found in: Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia | 0.01 sec. |
surely [ˈʃʊəlɪ ˈʃɔː-] adv
1. without doubt; assuredly things could surely not have been worse 2. without fail; inexorably (esp in the phrase slowly but surely) 3. (sentence modifier) am I not right in thinking that?; I am sure that surely you don't mean it? 4. Rare in a sure manner 5. Archaic safely; securely 6. (sentence substitute) Chiefly US and Canadian willingly; of course; yes ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
surely adverb 1. it must be the case that, without question, assuredly If I can accept this situation, surely you can? 2. undoubtedly, certainly, definitely, inevitably, doubtless, for certain, without doubt, unquestionably, inexorably, come what may, without fail, indubitably, doubtlessly, beyond the shadow of a doubt He knew that under the surgeon's knife he would surely die. 3. steadily, determinedly, doggedly, assuredly, unswervingly, unfalteringly He's recovering, slowly but surely. Translations surely [ˈʃʊəlɪ] ADV 1. (emphatic) 1.1. (in questions) surely there must be something we can do? → algo habrá que podemos hacer, ¿no? 1.2. (expressing opinion) there must surely be a more effective way of punishing such people → tiene que haber una forma más eficaz de castigar a esa clase de gente, digo or creo yo surely it is better to steal than to starve → mejor será robar que pasar hambre, digo or creo yo it is surely no coincidence that → digo or creo yo que no es una coincidencia que ... 1.3. (expressing surprise) surely you are not suggesting she did it on purpose? → no estarás insinuando que lo hizo a propósito ¿verdad? surely it's obvious? → pero si es obvio, ¿no? surely the logical thing would have been to change banks? → lo más lógico habría sido cambiar de banco, ¿no? you surely don't think it was me! → ¡no pensarás que fui yo! surely not → no puede ser surely to God surely to goodness surely to God that's what everyone wants → está claro que es eso lo que quiere todo el mundo ¿no? surely to goodness that itself is reason enough to call the police → seguro que eso en sí mismo es motivo suficiente para llamar a la policía, ¿no? 2. (= undoubtedly) → sin duda she was surely one of the greatest sopranos of all time → sin duda fue una de las sopranos más destacadas de todos los tiempos justice will surely prevail → sin duda la justicia prevalecerá he is an artist, just as surely as Rembrandt → es pintor, tan seguro como que lo era Rembrandt his time will surely come → no cabe duda de que le llegará su momento 3. (US) (= of course) → por supuesto, ¡cómo no!(LAm) "will you excuse me just a second?" - "surely" → -¿me permite un momento? -¡por supuesto! or (LAm) -¡cómo no! 4. (= safely, confidently) → con seguridad he handles the issue surely but with sensitivity → maneja el asunto con seguridad y sensibilidad a la vez slowly but surely → lento pero seguro surely [ˈʃʊərli] adv surely adv → bestimmt, sicher; surely you don’t mean it? → das meinen Sie doch bestimmt or sicher nicht (so)?; surely he’s come(, hasn’t he?) → er ist doch bestimmt gekommen(, oder?); surely he hasn’t come(, has he)? → er ist doch bestimmt or sicher nicht gekommen(, oder?); surely not! → das kann doch nicht stimmen!; surely someone must know the answer → irgendjemand muss doch die Antwort wissen; there must surely be something we can do → irgendetwas müssen wir doch (sicher) tun können; I can’t — oh, surely you can → ich kann (es) nicht — aber sicher kannst du das!; but surely you can’t expect us to believe that → Sie können doch wohl nicht erwarten, dass wir das glauben!; surely if a equals b, then c must … → also, wenn a gleich b ist, dann muss c doch sicherlich …; surely to God or goodness (inf) → sicherlich (esp US: = gladly) → gern, mit Vergnügen (= inevitably, with certainty) → zweifellos surely [ˈʃʊəlɪ] adv (certainly) → certamente, sicuramente surely we've met before? → ma non ci siamo già incontrati? surely you don't mean that! → non parlerai sul serio! surely not! → ma non è possibile! surely [ˈʃʊəlɪ] adv (certainly) → certamente, sicuramente surely we've met before? → ma non ci siamo già incontrati? surely you don't mean that! → non parlerai sul serio! surely not! → ma non è possibile! How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Remember that as surely as we one day swung down out of the trees and walked upright, just as surely, on a far earlier day, did we crawl up out of the sea and achieve our first adventure on land. If a woman may ever be said to be in safety from the determined Perseverance of disagreeable Lovers and the cruel Persecutions of obstinate Fathers, surely it must be at such a time of Life. Dear Ripple, do not go, for you can never reach that distant place: some harm most surely will befall; and then how shall we live, without our dearest, gentlest Spirit? |
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