dearly

From Middle English derely, deorliche, from Old English dēorlīċe (“worthily, richly”), equivalent to dear +‎ -ly.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪɹli/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪəli/

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dearly (comparative more dearly or (rare) dearlier, superlative most dearly or (rare) dearliest)

1. In a dear or precious manner.

   the funeral of our dearly beloved sister

2. In a dear or expensive manner.

   a dearly priced item

3. At great expense.

   He paid dearly for his mistake.

   • 2023 April 21, John Poulos, “Dominion’s C.E.O.: Why We Settled the Lawsuit Against Fox News”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     But I take solace in the fact that the public has seen the enormous mountain of evidence proving what Fox did, and Fox paid dearly for it.

• Ardley, Darley, Radley, yarled