1. fairly(r = adv.all) jolly, middling, moderately, passably, pretty, reasonably, somewhat - to a moderately sufficient extent or degree; "pretty big"; "pretty bad"; "jolly decent of him"; "the shoes are priced reasonably"; "he is fairly clever with computers"
2. fairly(r = adv.all) evenhandedly, fair - without favoring one party, in a fair evenhanded manner; "deal fairly with one another"
3. fairly(r = adv.all) clean, fair - in conformity with the rules or laws and without fraud or cheating; "they played fairly"
Antonym: unfairly
1. In a fair manner; clearly; openly; plainly; fully; distinctly; frankly. [1913 Webster]
"Even the nature of Mr. Dimmesdale's disease had never fairly been revealed to him." [1913 Webster]
2. Favorably; auspiciously; commodiously; as, a town fairly situated for foreign trade. [1913 Webster]
3. Honestly; properly. [1913 Webster]
"Such means of comfort or even luxury, as lay fairly within their grasp." [1913 Webster]
4. Softly; quietly; gently. Milton. [1913 Webster]
fairly, adv.
1 in a fair manner; justly.
2 moderately, acceptably (fairly good).
3 to a noticeable degree (fairly narrow).
4 utterly, completely (fairly beside himself).
5 actually (fairly jumped for joy).
Idiom:
fairly and squarely = fair and square (see FAIR(1)).
N intrinsicality, inbeing, inherence, inhesion, subjectiveness, ego, egohood, essence, noumenon, essentialness, essential part, quintessence, incarnation, quiddity, gist, pith, marrow, core, sap, lifeblood, backbone, heart, soul, important part, principle, nature, constitution, character, type, quality, crasis, diathesis, habit, temper, temperament, spirit, humor, grain, disposition, endowment, capacity, capability, moods, declensions, features, aspects, peculiarities, idiosyncrasy, oddity, idiocrasy, diagnostics, derived from within, subjective, intrinsic, intrinsical, fundamental, normal, implanted, inherent, essential, natural, innate, inborn, inbred, ingrained, inwrought, coeval with birth, genetous, haematobious, syngenic, radical, incarnate, thoroughbred, hereditary, inherited, immanent, congenital, congenite, connate, running in the blood, ingenerate, ingenite, indigenous, in the grain, bred in the bone, instinctive, inward, internal, to the manner born, virtual, characteristic, invariable, incurable, incorrigible, ineradicable, fixed, intrinsically, at bottom, in the main, in effect, practically, virtually, substantially, au fond, fairly, character is higher than intellect, come give us a taste of your quality, magnos homines virtute metimur non fortuna, non numero haec judicantur sed pondere, vital spark of heavenly flame.