What does utterly mean?
Utterly means completely, absolutely, or to the fullest possible extent. It is used to emphasize that something is total, unqualified, or beyond dispute: a statement may be utterly false, a person may be utterly convinced, or a place may be utterly destroyed. The word is especially effective when describing a complete change, failure, conviction, opposition, or contrast, and it can carry a forceful or uncompromising tone. In informal speech it is often interchangeable with words such as completely and totally, while in formal writing it can give a sentence added emphasis. Utterly should generally be reserved for strong assertions because its meaning leaves no room for qualification or exception. Its formation reflects its history: it was made by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to utter, an older word meaning whole or complete.
adverbCompletely or absolutely, with no qualification or exception. It emphasizes the full extent or force of something.
- Completely or absolutely; to the greatest possible extent.
"The witness was utterly convinced that the account had been deliberately distorted."
"The evidence utterly contradicted the witness's account."
"She was utterly unprepared for the scale of the disaster."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does utterly come from?
Utterly developed in the early modern period by adding -ly to utter, an older English word meaning complete, whole, or absolute. Utter itself reflects older French forms connected with Latin words meaning outer or outside, and its older meanings included the sense of being in full or to the utmost. English later developed related forms such as utterance and utterer from the same verbal and adjectival base.
How utterly is actually used
Utterly is a strong, emphatic adverb used in both formal and informal registers. It can sound absolute and uncompromising, so writers sometimes use it for rhetorical emphasis rather than neutral description.
Easily confused with utterly
Utter is an adjective or verb, whereas utterly is an adverb: an utter failure is complete, and a plan can utterly fail.