Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to give a summary of a situation, activity, or idea without referring to the particular details of it.
University teachers ~ have admitted a lack of enthusiasm about their subjects...
Speaking ~, the space enterprise has served astronomy well.
ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v
2.
You use ~ to say that something happens or is used on most occasions but not on every occasion.
As women we ~ say and feel too much about these things...
It is ~ true that the darker the fruit the higher its iron content...
The warmer a place is, ~ speaking, the more types of plants and animals it will usually support.
= usually
ADV: ADV with cl/group, ADV with v