practically

English

Etymology

From practical +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹæktɪk(ə)li/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: prac‧ti‧cal‧ly

Adverb

practically (comparative more practically, superlative most practically)

1. In practice; in effect or in actuality, though possibly not officially, technically, or legally.

   Synonyms: de facto, effectively

   Coordinate term: de jure

   Stalin was not technically or legally the head of state but was practically so.

   • 1893, C. E. Akers, “The Argentine Position”, in Argentine, Patagonian, and Chilian Sketches, with a Few Notes on Uruguay.‎^[1], London: Harrison and Sons, page 12:

     It is true that the Articles of the [Argentine] Constitution promise fair conditions under which to live; but, unfortunately, the self-same Constitution, in the hands of unscrupulous administrators, becomes so elastic as to be practically a dead letter.

2. Almost completely; almost entirely.

   Near-synonyms: effectively, nearly, virtually

   He was practically uneducated, barely able to read and write a simple sentence.

   • 1898, E[merson] Hough, “The Round-Up”, in The Story of the Cowboy‎^[2], New York: D. Appleton and Company, page 153:

     If the ranchero had practically all the water near him, he had also practically all the cattle, […]

   • 1969, Robert Farrar Capon, “Living Water”, in The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection:

     The turnip is one of the lordliest vegetables in the world; its broth is practically a soup in itself.

3. With respect to practices or a practice.

   He wasn't very good with words or numbers; he was more of a practically minded person

   He was practically educated and lacked theoretical depth.

4. In a way that is practical: feasibly; unchallengingly.

   Synonym: practicably

   Coordinate term: easily

   practically achievable

Usage notes

• Practical-minded is nearly four times as common as practically minded in books.

Synonyms

• all but

Antonyms

• impractically

Translations

In practice, in effect

• Armenian: փաստորեն (hy) (pʻastoren)
• Bulgarian: практически (bg) (praktičeski)
• Catalan: pràcticament (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 事實上 / 事实上 (zh) (shìshí shàng)

• Finnish: käytännössä (fi), käytännöllisesti katsoen, käytännöllisesti katsottuna
• French: pratiquement (fr)
• German: praktisch (de)
• Hungarian: gyakorlatilag (hu)
• Polish: praktycznie (pl)
• Russian: практи́чески (ru) (praktíčeski)
• Spanish: prácticamente (es)
• Swedish: i praktiken
• Ukrainian: практи́чно (praktýčno)

almost completely

• Armenian: համարյա (hy) (hamarya)
• Bulgarian: фактически (bg) (faktičeski), почти (bg) (počti)
• Catalan: pràcticament (ca), gairebé (ca)
• Finnish: lähes (fi), käytännöllisesti katsoen
• French: quasiment (fr), pratiquement (fr)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: praktisk talt

  Nynorsk: praktisk talt

• Polish: niemal (pl), prawie (pl), bez mała
• Spanish: prácticamente (es)
• Swedish: praktiskt taget, så gott som (sv)