Meaning & use

solely

adverb·Academic

Only, and not involving or including anyone or anything else.

See it in a sentence

The decision was made solely by the board of directors, without input from staff.

He blamed himself solely for the mistake, even though others were involved too.

A note on using this word

Solely is more formal than "only" and often appears in legal, academic, or official writing to stress exclusivity.

Words with a similar meaning

onlyexclusively

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “solely”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.