secondly

secondly — adverb

1. You say secondly when you have already given one reason or point and now want to

1.adverbB2
Definition

You say secondly when you have already given one reason or point and now want to add the next one in your list.

Example

Ravindra did not enjoy the film. Secondly, the ticket cost more than he expected.

paired with stated first point

Putri chose this university for its science courses. Secondly, the city is safe and affordable.

Common collocations
  • firstly…, secondly…
  • first…, secondly…
  • secondly,…
Synonyms
  • next

    more general; can refer to any position in a sequence, not just the second

  • second

    informal alternative; common in everyday speech but less structured than 'secondly' in formal writing

  • furthermore

    adds supporting information without specifying the position in a list

Antonyms
  • firstly

    marks the first item where 'secondly' marks the second in the same sequence

Usage Note

Typically appears after an earlier point introduced by 'first', 'firstly', or a full sentence stating the first reason. Common in both speech and writing, especially in structured arguments or explanations.

Common Mistakes

Secondly, I like the colour.' (with no first point mentioned)
The size is good. Secondly, I like the colour.
'secondly' signals the second item in a list, so a first item should come before it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

These words all help structure an argument, but each has a different role. 'Firstly' and 'secondly' are parallel discourse markers that explicitly number points — you use 'firstly' to open and 'secondly' to follow. 'Second' works as an informal adverb ('First, ... Second, ...') but is less common in formal writing. 'Next' simply means 'after this' and does not guarantee that the speaker is counting items — it could be the third or fourth point. 'Furthermore' adds supporting information but does not indicate position in a list. For example: 'The hotel was dirty. Furthermore, the staff were rude.' — this adds a complaint but does not label it as the second point. If you want to be precise about ordering, use 'firstly … secondly …'.

next ↗second ↗firstly ↗furthermore ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • firstly…, secondly…
  • first…, secondly…

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed from the ordinal number 'second' (from Latin 'secundus', meaning 'following' or 'next') plus the adverb-forming suffix '-ly'. The word 'secondly' appeared in English around the 1500s as writers began to use numbered discourse markers to organise longer arguments.