Finally or finely?
finally is an adverb meaning “At the end or conclusion; ultimately”; finely is an adverb meaning “So as to produce a fine texture; into small, thin, or delicate pieces”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) finally is about 45 times as common as finely.
What is the difference between finally and finely?
| finally | finely | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adverb | adverb |
| Meaning | At the end or conclusion; ultimately At bottom; ultimately; when all is considered | So as to produce a fine texture; into small, thin, or delicate pieces In a fine, handsome or attractive way; very well |
| Example | The contest was long, but the Romans finally conquered | Fledglings can only be fed finely chopped meat |
| Forms | none | finelier, fineliest |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfaɪ.nə.li/ /ˈfaɪn.li/ /ˈfɑɪ.nə.li/ | /ˈfaɪnli/ |
| In writing | 148 times per million words | 3.3 times per million words |
Sources: finally and finely in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of finally and finely
finally
- 1
At the end or conclusion; ultimately
The contest was long, but the Romans finally conquered
- 2
At bottom; ultimately; when all is considered
- 3
To finish (with); lastly (in the present)
Finally, I washed my dog
- 4
Definitively, comprehensively
The question of his long-term success has now been finally settled
finely
- 1
So as to produce a fine texture; into small, thin, or delicate pieces
Fledglings can only be fed finely chopped meat
- 2
In a fine, handsome or attractive way; very well
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, finally or finely?
finally appears 148 times per million words; finely 3.3 times per million words.
finally 148 times per million wordsfinely 3.3 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).