How to Use nearly in a Sentence

nearly

adverb
  • We lived there for nearly two years.
  • Nearly all of us got sick that weekend.
  • I see her nearly every day.
  • Babs had nearly jumped up in his seat.
    — Ben Mezrich, Vanity Fair, 6 Apr. 2026
  • The stock is down nearly 30% in a year.
    — Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 20 Apr. 2026
  • Rushdie was stabbed 15 times and nearly died.
    — CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Transocean shares fell nearly 4%.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Better yet, the style is on sale for nearly half off.
    — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Ohtani is striking out nearly half the time.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • The colonel had been on the ground in Iran for nearly two days.
    — Lucia I Suarez Sang, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
  • The stock has lost nearly 24% over the past three days.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 22 June 2026
  • The stock has gained nearly 10% since the start of the war.
    — Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
  • That’s nearly a quarter of my life.
    — Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
  • At the end of the lane, trees sagging with plums nearly hide the tall house.
    — Nina Strochlic, Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2023
  • Huge bonus—they’re nearly 40% off.
    — Jacquelyn Smith, Parents, 23 June 2026
  • No Democrat had won the seat in nearly fifty years.
    — Peter Slevin, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
  • In the meantime, prices of in-house or store brands haven’t climbed nearly as much.
    — NBC News, 18 Feb. 2022
  • South in Nampa for nearly four years.
    — Michael Deeds may 18, Idaho Statesman, 18 May 2026
  • That is nearly double the rate of one in 13 homes a year ago.
    — Veronica Dagher, WSJ, 5 Aug. 2022
  • That’s nearly a decade of fans refusing to let this one die.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Her pup nearly dragged her off the runway in their initial walk.
    — Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
  • That is up nearly 25% from the year before.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026
  • Sadly, that night will feature a bright sky bleached by a nearly full moon.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 21 June 2025
  • Our painters, on the other hand, nearly ruined his hard work.
    — Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 1 June 2026
  • At its lows, the Dow was down nearly 600 points.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 2 Mar. 2026
  • By now, he's known some crew members for nearly 20 years.
    — Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The steamer broke down, and harsh winds nearly pushed the two barges into their guide.
    — Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Mar. 2023
  • There was a time, not too long ago, when Landgraf wasn’t nearly as bullish.
    — Lacey Rose, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Nov. 2022
  • The clouds moved nearly as fast as the song, their shadows warped on the arid land below.
    — Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 June 2026
  • Then, some women's sports are among their top-tier ones, but not nearly the same numbers.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 6 June 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nearly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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