preciselypre‧cise‧ly /prɪˈsaɪsli/ ●●○ W3 AWL adverb 
Temperature can be measured precisely. He arrived at precisely four o'clock.precisely what/how/where etc It is difficult to know precisely how much impact the changes will have. What, precisely, does that mean? Lathes make wheels, or, more precisely, they make cylindrical objects.► see thesaurus at exactly2used to emphasize that a particular thing is completely true or correct: Women in these jobs are paid less precisely because most of the jobs are held by women rather than men. She’s precisely the kind of person we’re looking for.3spoken formal used to say that you agree completely with someone: ‘It needs to be dealt with now.’ ‘Precisely, before it gets any worse.’
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Can you tell us more precisely what happened?
- That is precisely the point I was trying to make earlier.
- The new legislation won't solve the problem - it will do precisely the opposite.
- We arrived at the hotel at precisely 10:30.
- We need to know precisely how much this is going to cost.
- What precisely do you mean by 'relativity'?
- Fife Symington has been in office precisely 18 days.
- Further down the scale the monarchic principle constitutes an obstacle to precisely that sense of responsibility about which we hear so much.
- That world evolves in a clear and deterministic way, being governed by precisely formulated mathematical equations.
- The cloud cover as well as the atmospheric conditions are precisely defined.
- The different categories of traveller are very hard to assess at all precisely.
- They are, of course, precisely right.
- What precisely, then, do we mean by church union?
THESAURUS
used when emphasizing that something is no more and no less than a number or amount, or is completely correct in every detail: · The bill came to exactly $1,000.· Police are still trying to find out exactly how the accident happened.
exactly – used when it is important to be sure that something is completely correct in every detail: · We need to know precisely how much this is going to cost.· Can you tell us precisely where he is?· What precisely do you mean by ‘relativity’?
especially spoken exactly – used especially when saying that things are exactly right, exactly the same, or exactly in a particular position: · The frame is just the right size for the picture.· He and his brother are just the same.· The hotel is just next to the station.· A new handbag! That’s just what I wanted.
exactly in a particular position or direction: · The ball hit me right in the eye!· There’s the house, right in front of you.· I got a mosquito bite right on the end of my nose.· He sat down right beside her.
exactly in a particular position or direction Directly is more formal than right: · Amy was sitting directly opposite me.
informal at exactly a particular time, and no earlier or later than that time: · She always leaves the office at 5.30 p.m. on the dot.
British English informal exactly – used especially in the following very informal expressions: · The train was bang on time.· The shot was bang on target.· Cockatoo Island is right bang in the middle of Sydney harbour.
Longman Language Activatorexactly the right thing use this to emphasize that something is the particular thing that you want or mean: · This is exactly the kind of job that computers are good at.· That's exactly the sort of material I'm looking for. exactly what: · The earrings are beautiful! They're exactly what I wanted.· That's exactly what happened to me!
exactly - use this to emphasize exactly what the situation is, exactly what happened, exactly what you meant etc: · That is precisely the point I was trying to make earlier.· The new legislation won't solve the problem - it will do precisely the opposite.
informal use this to talk about exactly the thing, person, or place you mean, want etc: · We want just the same rights as everyone else.· He said he was leaving her and proceeded to do just that!just who/what/how etc: · I'm not sure just who you mean.· Mallorca? That's just where we want to go.
exactly how, what, where etc use this to give or ask for exact details or information: · Glue the pieces together, exactly as shown in the diagram.· It took us exactly two hours to get here.exactly who/what/where etc: · The police want to know exactly when you left the building.· The doctors can't say exactly what's wrong with my mother.exactly the same: · It tastes exactly the same as meat.who/what/where exactly?: · Where exactly are you from?· What exactly did you want to see?
especially spoken use this to say exactly how, what, where etc something is: · That's just the right place for the painting, don't you think?just what/how/where etc: · A new handbag! That's just what I wanted.· Just who does he think he is, coming in here and shouting like that?just the same: · He and his brother are just the same -- lazy.
exactly - use this when it is important to describe something very carefully or to get very exact information: precisely what/where/who etc: · We need to know precisely how much this is going to cost.· Can you tell us more precisely what happened?where/what/who precisely?: · What precisely do you mean by 'relativity'?
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY It is difficult to know precisely how much impact the changes will have. Lathes make wheels, or, more precisely, they make cylindrical objects. Women in these jobs are paid less precisely because most of the jobs are held by women rather than men.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The description of these events corresponds closely to other accounts written at the time. I know exactly how you feel.
It is difficult to know precisely how much impact the changes will have. Lathes make wheels, or, more precisely, they make cylindrical objects. Women in these jobs are paid less precisely because most of the jobs are held by women rather than men. The description of these events corresponds closely to other accounts written at the time.· This was precisely the kind of help that she needed.
I know exactly how you feel. (=completely different than what has been said)· It looks simple, but it is exactly the opposite.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSVERB· The data corresponds precisely to the situation described by Ashton etal's recruitment strategies with non-educational criteria taking priority over educational ones.· Neither type corresponds precisely to that seen in vertebrate enamel, and the extreme variation in crystal orientation is puzzling.
· The parties will need to negotiate the period of the retention and define precisely the circumstances in which the retention is released.· Note that the so-called critical exposures here are less easy to define precisely and will not be used.· While assignments are difficult to define precisely, they are more structured and less open-ended than projects.· Rarely will they define precisely what it is they wish to find out about dinosaurs or railways, etc.· A further difficulty relates to defining precisely what does and does not constitute economic activity.· It is hard to define precisely what constitutes quality of life.· Their nature and duration must be defined precisely.· The requested numbers of psychogeriatric beds may be defined precisely.
· Whether or not motion occurs is most precisely determined experimentally by its effect on the heat transfer.· More research will have to be completed before we can determine precisely what excites female widow-birds.· You can precisely determine the orthodoxy of scientists' opinions by getting them to place themselves on that continuum.· They compared these numbers to precisely determine muon's magnetic moment.
· Year by year we should be concerned to know precisely the rate of growth or decline.· We had better know precisely what might happen.· He knows precisely where he is going now and is fit and eager for the challenge.· He knew precisely what she meant.· He used this place rarely, but he knew precisely what he was looking for.· Nobody except Chairman Daley knows precisely how many jobs the Machine controls.· No one can know precisely how many consultations are involved in treating a specific individual.· Publishing a paper in a small town, where readers know precisely what they want, is a big headache for Harold.
· This is undoubted, but unfortunately for historians these changes can not be measured precisely.· In other words, I can precisely measure this surface by looking down at it using laser scanners and such.· For such workers, the wage differential precisely measures their willingness to pay for safety.· The machine allows him to observe and measure precisely the biomechanics of the human body.· Though temperature is an emergent property, it can be measured precisely, confidently, and predictably.· And unlike white-collar work weeks, manufacturing hours are precisely measured by the government.
WORD FAMILYadjectiveprecise ≠ impreciseprecisionnounprecision ≠ imprecisionadverbprecisely ≠ imprecisely
1exactly and correctly SYN exactly: Temperature can be measured precisely. He arrived at precisely four o'clock.precisely what/how/where etc It is difficult to know precisely how much impact the changes will have. What, precisely, does that mean? Lathes make wheels, or, more precisely, they make cylindrical objects.► see thesaurus at exactly2used to emphasize that a particular thing is completely true or correct: Women in these jobs are paid less precisely because most of the jobs are held by women rather than men. She’s precisely the kind of person we’re looking for.3spoken formal used to say that you agree completely with someone: ‘It needs to be dealt with now.’ ‘Precisely, before it gets any worse.’