fundamentally

adverb

fun·​da·​men·​tal·​ly ˌfən-də-ˈmen-tᵊl-ē How to pronounce fundamentally (audio)
Synonyms of fundamentallynext
: with regard to what is basic, essential, or fundamental : at a fundamental level
a fundamentally honest person
a fundamentally new/different approach
Most theories of the internal structure of Venus begin with the assumption that the planet is fundamentally similar to the earth …—Andrew and Louise Young
: in a basic or fundamental manner
This "disposable" work force is the most important trend in business today, and it is fundamentally changing the relationship between Americans and their jobs.—Janice Castro

Examples of fundamentally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Piatt said that the trust in city leadership had been fundamentally broken. — Mary Ella Hastings updated July 8, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 July 2026 Salman Rushdie has declared that artificial intelligence has no role to play in literature, cinema or storytelling of any kind, dismissing the technology as fundamentally incapable of originality. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 July 2026 Rethinking The Revenue Cycle From The Front When every encounter generates a coding-complete claim before the patient walks out the door, the economics fundamentally shift. — Mike Valli, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Emmy categorizations and classifications are silly and fundamentally broken. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for fundamentally

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fundamentally was in the 15th century

Rhymes for fundamentally

See All Rhymes for fundamentally

Browse Nearby Words

fundamental law
fundamentally
fundamentalness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fundamentally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fundamentally. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fundamentally

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for fundamentally

Nglish: Translation of fundamentally for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All