mentally

mentally — adverb

1. relating to your mind or thinking, rather than your physical body or condition

1.adverbB1
Definition

relating to your mind or thinking, rather than your physical body or condition

Example

Kofi felt mentally exhausted after studying for his final exams all night.

mentally + adjective (exhausted)

The physiotherapist said Sari was making progress both mentally and physically.

contrasted with physically

Common collocations
  • mentally exhausted
  • mentally ill
  • mentally sharp
  • mentally prepare
  • mentally rehearsed
  • mentally calculated
  • mentally and physically
  • mentally challenging
Synonyms
  • psychologically

    More clinical register, often about mental health or emotional processing rather than general thinking

  • intellectually

    Narrower scope — focuses on reasoning and knowledge, while mentally also covers emotional and cognitive states

  • cognitively

    More technical and formal, used mainly in academic or medical writing about brain functions

Antonyms
  • physically

    The body as opposed to the mind — the most direct antonym in common usage

  • emotionally

    Different dimension — feelings and affect rather than thoughts and mental processes

Grammar Patterns

mentally + adjective describing a state

mentally + verb of thinking or preparation

Usage Note

Commonly placed before adjectives describing a person's state (mentally exhausted, mentally sharp) and before verbs of cognitive preparation (mentally prepare, mentally rehearse). Frequently paired with physically or emotionally to distinguish mind-related aspects from other dimensions.

Common Mistakes

She was tired mentally after the long trip.
She was mentally tired after the long trip.
As an adverb of manner/domain, mentally usually comes before the adjective or verb it modifies, not after.

Word family

  • mental
    adjectiveB1
  • mentality
    nounB2
  • mentalist
    nounC1
  • mentalism
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All four words describe processes involving the mind, but they differ in scope and register. Mentally is the broadest and most neutral everyday term, covering any activity of the mind — thinking, preparing, imagining, or emotional processing. Psychologically is more clinical and often refers to mental health, personality, or emotional well-being ("psychologically damaging environment"). Intellectually narrows the focus to reasoning, analysis, and knowledge acquisition ("intellectually stimulating book"). Cognitively is the most technical, used in academic contexts for brain functions like memory, attention, and problem-solving ("cognitively demanding task"). In casual conversation, mentally is the safest choice; the other three fit specific contexts. For example: "He was mentally prepared for the test" sounds natural in everyday speech, while "cognitively prepared" would only appear in a psychology textbook.

mentally ↗psychologicallyintellectually ↗cognitively

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • mentally and physically
  • mentally and emotionally

Etymology

LatinLate LatinEnglish

Mentally was formed in English by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to mental, which came from Late Latin mentalis ('of the mind'), itself from Latin mens ('mind, intellect'). The word has been used since the 15th century to describe actions or states occurring in the mind rather than in the physical world.