Synonyms for in the main
- chiefly
- primarily
- principally
- above all
- essentially
- first and foremost
- generally
- in general
- largely
- most of all
- mostly
- on the whole
- overall
- predominantly
- substantially
- to the greatest extent
- usually
MOST RELEVANT
Antonyms for in the main
- secondarily
MOST RELEVANT
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.
WORD ORIGIN
Old English mægen (n.) "power, bodily strength, force, efficacy," from Proto-Germanic *maginam "power," suffixed form of PIE root *magh- (1) "be able, have power" (see may (v.)). Original sense preserved in phrase with might and main. Meaning "principal channel in a utility system" is first recorded 1727 in main drain; Used since 1540s for "continuous stretch of land or water." In Spanish Main the word is short for mainland and refers to the coast between Panama and Orinoco.
MORE RELATED WORDS FOR IN THE MAIN
chiefly
adverbmost importantlyhabitually
adverbusuallyprincipally
adverbmainly- above all
- basically
- before anything else
- cardinally
- chiefly
- dominantly
- eminently
- especially
- essentially
- first and foremost
- first of all
- for the most part
- fundamentally
- generally
- importantly
- in the first place
- in the main
- largely
- materially
- mostly
- notably
- particularly
- peculiarly
- predominantly
- preeminently
- prevailingly
- prevalently
- primarily
- substantially
- superlatively
- supremely
- to a great degree
- universally
- vitally
routinely
adverbusuallyRoget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.