(~er, ~est)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ rule or order is very clear and precise or severe and must always be obeyed completely.
The officials had issued ~ instructions that we were not to get out of the jeep...
French privacy laws are very ~...
All your replies will be treated in the ~est confidence...
ADJ
~ly
The acceptance of new members is ~ly controlled.
ADV: ADV with v
2.
If a parent or other person in authority is ~, they regard many actions as unacceptable and do not allow them.
My parents were very ~.
...a few schools selected for their high standards and their ~ discipline.
ADJ
~ly
My own mother was brought up very ~ly and correctly.
ADV
3.
If you talk about the ~ meaning of something, you mean the precise meaning of it.
It’s not quite peace in the ~est sense of the word, rather the absence of war.
ADJ: ADJ n
~ly
Actually, that is not ~ly true...
Strictly speaking, it is not one house at all, but three houses joined together.
ADV: ADV adj
see also ~
4.
You use ~ to describe someone who never does things that are against their beliefs.
Four million Britons are now ~ vegetarians...
ADJ: ADJ n