accurately

accurately — adverb

1. so that every detail is right and matches the true facts, numbers, or measuremen

1.adverbB1
Definition

so that every detail is right and matches the true facts, numbers, or measurements, with no errors.

Example

The witness described the suspect's jacket and shoes accurately to the police officer.

verb + object + accurately

Leila measured the flour accurately so the cake would rise properly.

measure / weigh + accurately

Common collocations
  • accurately measure
  • accurately reflect
  • accurately predict
  • accurately describe
  • accurately record
Synonyms
  • correctly

    general 'right answer' word; less focused on fine detail than 'accurately'

  • precisely

    stresses very fine detail or exact measurement, often more technical

  • exactly

    matches a stated value or instruction; common in everyday speech

  • faithfully

    describes a report or copy that stays true to the original; mainly used for translations and accounts

Antonyms
  • inaccurately

    direct opposite; with mistakes in detail or fact

  • wrongly

    broader; covers any kind of error, not just factual ones

  • roughly

    approximately; useful when an estimate is enough

Grammar Patterns

verb + accurately

accurately + past participle

Usage Note

Frequently modifies verbs of measuring, reporting, predicting, recording, and translating. Often paired with another adverb such as 'quickly' or 'reliably' to praise both speed and correctness.

Common Mistakes

She is an accurately person.
She is an accurate person.
'accurately' is an adverb; before a noun use the adjective 'accurate'.
The clock is running accurately five minutes fast.
The clock is running exactly five minutes fast.
'accurately' means without errors, not 'precisely the amount stated'; use 'exactly' for a precise quantity.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All five adverbs describe doing something without errors, but they differ in scope and tone. 'Correctly' is the broadest and most everyday word: a child who answers a maths question 'correctly' has simply got the right answer. 'Accurately' adds the idea that fine details match reality — a witness who describes a suspect 'accurately' has the colours, height, and clothing right. 'Precisely' goes one step further into very fine, often measurable detail and is common in science and engineering, as in 'the laser cuts the metal precisely'. 'Exactly' fits a stated value or instruction, like 'the train arrived exactly on time'. 'Faithfully' is reserved for copies, translations, or accounts that stay true to an original — 'she faithfully translated his speech'.

accurately ↗correctly ↗precisely ↗exactly ↗faithfully ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • very accurately
  • fairly accurately
  • highly accurately
  • remarkably accurately

Phrases

  • accurately and reliably
  • quickly and accurately
  • more accurately
  • to put it more accurately

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Accurately' is the adverb form of the adjective 'accurate', which entered English in the late 1500s from Latin 'accuratus', meaning 'done with care'. The Latin word comes from the verb 'accurare' ('to take care of'), built from 'ad-' ('to, toward') and 'cura' ('care') — the same root that gives English 'cure' and 'curious'. So at its heart, doing something 'accurately' means doing it carefully enough to get every detail right.