Highly

Pronunciation

Origin

From Middle English hiȝly, heȝly, heyȝliche, from Old English hēalīce ("highly"), equivalent to high + -ly. Cognate with Dutch hoogelijk ("highly"), German höchlich ("highly"), Danish højlig ("highly"), Swedish högligen ("highly").

Full definition of highly

Adverb

1. In a high or esteemed manner.
   He spoke highly of you.
2. Extremely; greatly; awfully.
• 2013, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, Wild Plants to the Rescue, Plant breeding is always a numbers game....The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, and individual plants are highly heterozygous and do not breed true. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better.
3. He is in a highly visible job.

Usage notes

The adverb highly and the adverb high shouldn't be confused.

This is certainly highly recommended.

High above us the stars were shining.