Especially means particularly or above all, highlighting something within a group or situation.

The idea

Put especially before the item or quality emphasized: fruit, especially apples; especially light. The context tells you what is being highlighted.

Examples

  • I like fruit, especially apples.
  • The room is especially light in the morning.
  • She enjoys music, especially jazz.
  • This route is especially busy on Fridays.
  • He thanked everyone, especially the volunteers.
  • The soup is especially good today.

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Watch out

Especially and specially can overlap for a particular purpose; especially is the usual choice for highlighting an example or degree.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the word that singles out an example. I like fruit, ___ apples. (especially / afterwards)

    Show answer or example answer

    especially

    Especially singles out apples within fruit.

  2. Choose what the phrase emphasizes. The room is especially light in the morning. Especially emphasizes ___. (brightness / weight)

    Show answer or example answer

    brightness

    Especially light emphasizes the degree of brightness.

  3. Decide whether the sentence excludes other fruit. I like fruit, especially apples. Does this exclude other fruit? (no / yes)

    Show answer or example answer

    no

    The sentence does not exclude other fruit; apples receive extra emphasis.

Use it today

Name a group of things you like and highlight one example with especially.