Crossword Dictionary
HIGHLY
highly, extremely - r
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect; "highly successful"; "He spoke highly of her"; "does not think highly of his writing"; "extremely interesting"
Synonyms
decidedly, deeply, eminently, exceedingly, exceptionally, extraordinarily, extremely, greatly, hugely, immensely, profoundly, really, remarkably, so, strikingly, supremely, terribly, tremendously, vastly, very much
Examples
It is highly unlikely that the island will become habitable for overnight tourists in the near future.
We are all highly competitive people but if you take it too seriously you don't perform as well.
On the other is a video games executive behind the highly successful Candy Crush series.
Etymology
Old English healice "nobly, gloriously, honorably;" see high (adj.) + -ly (1). Meaning "very, very much, fully" is mid-14c.
high (adj.)
Old English heh (Anglian), heah (West Saxon) "of great height, tall, conspicuously elevated; lofty, exalted, high-class," from Proto-Germanic *hauha- (source also of Old Saxon hoh, Old Norse har, Danish høi, Swedish hög, Old Frisian hach, Dutch hoog, Old High German hoh, German hoch, Gothic hauhs "high;" also German Hügel "hill," Old Norse haugr "mound").
-ly (1)
suffix forming adjectives from nouns and meaning "having qualities of, of the form or nature of" (manly, lordly), "appropriate to, fitting, suited to" (bodily, earthly, daily); irregularly descended from Old English -lic, from Proto-Germanic *-liko- (Old Frisian -lik, Dutch -lijk, Old High German -lih, German -lich, Old Norse -ligr), related to *likom- "appearance, form" (Old English lich "corpse, body;" see lich, which is a cognate; see also like (adj.), with which it is identical).