virtually

virtual +‎ -ly

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɚ.tʃwə.li/

virtually (comparative more virtually, superlative most virtually)

1. Almost but not quite.
   • 2011 September 21, Sam Lyon, “Man City 2-0 Birmingham”, in BBC Sport:

     By surviving the first six minutes Hargreaves matched the total amount of playing time he had managed previously in virtually three years - and by scoring his first goal since April 2008 he set the hosts on their way to a fifth win of the season in all competitions.

   • 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:

     Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.

   With our medicare supplemental insurance plan, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. (Advertisement)

   Synonym: as good as

2. Without exaggeration.
3. In essence, but not in fact.
4. (algebra) Of a substructure of finite index.

   virtually indicable

5. (topology) Of a covering space of finite index.

   virtually Haken