substantially.

1. To a large or significant extent in the relevant measure.

2. In the essential features, despite limited differences.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• substantially increase
• substantially reduce

On the page

The change substantially reduced the time needed for the required checks.

The estimate substantially increased when the omitted cost was included.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Invariable adverb; use more or most only where natural. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: scope qualification, degree qualification, criteria application, comparison. Disciplines: academic writing, analytical explanation, research interpretation. Commonness: moderately common.