patently
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Many speakers prefer to use the long a pronunciation of the homograph patent in its sense meaning "open" or "clear", whereas the short a pronunciation is the norm for its sense meaning "a government-issued temporary monopoly on an idea" (the senses are cognate but long since differentiated). In this view, prescriptively, the adverb patently is best pronounced with a long a, although descriptively it is true that speakers often pronounce it with a short a. See patent § Pronunciation, patent § Etymology 1, and patent § Etymology 2.
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Adverb[edit]
patently (comparative more patently, superlative most patently)
- In a clear and unambiguous manner.
- 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 161:
- Many of the so-called rites of these secret societies were so patently ridiculous, that it is quite obvious that they were merely an excuse for men and women to indulge in sex-play and lustful gratification, frequently of an abnormal kind.
Synonyms[edit]
- expressly, unambiguously, demonstrably; see also Thesaurus:explicitly
Collocations[edit]
adjectives
- patently obvious
- patently clear
- patently wrong
- patently incorrect
- patently false
- patently true
- patently offensive
- patently absurd
- patently ridiculous
- patently unfair
- patently impossible
- patently fake
- patently unconstitutional
- patently frivolous
- patently unreasonable
- patently untrue
- patently inadequate
Translations[edit]
in a clear and unambiguous manner
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