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Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th
fairly
fair·ly BrE [ˈfeəli] NAmE [ˈferli] adverb 1. (before adjectives and adverbs)to some extent but not very •a fairly easy book •a fairly typical reaction • I know him fairly well, but I wouldn't say we were really close friends. • I go jogging fairly regularly. •We'll have to leave fairly soon (= before very long). •I'm fairly certain I can do the job. •The report was fairly incomprehensible. •I think you'll find it fairly difficult (= you do not want to say that it is very difficult). 2. in a fair and reasonable way; honestly • He has always treated me very fairly. • Her attitude could fairly be described as hostile. 3. (old-fashioned)used to emphasize sth that you are saying •The time fairly raced by. Idiom: ↑fairly and squarely Thesaurus: fairly [fairly] adv. •The plants are fairly easy to grow. reasonably • |especially BrE rather • • quite • |AmE informal, BrE pretty • fairly/reasonably/rather/quite/pretty good/successful/large/easy/pleased/confident fairly/rather/quite/pretty bad/big/heavy/new/difficult/expensive fairly/reasonably/pretty certain/accurate/happy/safe/sure Fairly or reasonably? Fairly is more positive than reasonably, which often suggests that sth is of an acceptable standard, but not the best. Which Word?: quite / fairly / rather / pretty Look at these examples: ▪ The exam was fairly difficult. ▪ The exam was quite difficult. ▪ The exam was rather difficult. Quite is a little stronger than fairly, and rather is a little stronger than quite. Rather is not very common in NAmE; pretty has the same meaning and this is used in informal BrE too: ▪ The exam was pretty difficult. In BrE quite has two meanings: ▪ I feel quite tired today (= fairly tired). With adjectives that describe an extreme state (‘non-gradable’ adjectives) it means ‘completely’ or ‘absolutely’: ▪ I feel quite exhausted. With some adjectives, both meanings are possible. The speaker’s stress and intonation will show you which is meant: ▪ Your essay is ˈquite good (= fairly good — it could be better); ▪ Your essay is quite ˈgood (= very good, especially when this is unexpected). In NAmE quite usually means something like ‘very’, not ‘fairly’ or ‘rather’. Pretty is used instead for this sense. Example Bank: •He's always treated me very fairly. •It's fairly clear that there is still room for improvement. •That's a fairly typical reaction. •The plants are fairly easy to grow. •The software is fairly easy to use.
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