Used to introduce a simple or main idea, especially when you are explaining something in an easy way. It can also mean “in the most important ways” or “essentially.”
It is formed from “basic,” which comes from “base” meaning foundation, plus the adverb ending “-ly.” It literally means “in a basic or fundamental way.”
When people say “basically,” they’re signaling, “Let me strip this down to its base.” It’s a clue that what comes next is a compressed version of something more complex, even if we overuse it as a filler.
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