Ultimately

How to spell ultimately

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce ultimately

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ultimately mean?

1. adverbIn the end; after everything else has been considered or has happened.

Ultimately in a sentence

• The decision will ultimately rest with the board of directors.

• Hard work and patience ultimately paid off for the small business.

Where does ultimately come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin ultimus, which literally meant 'last' or 'farthest', the superlative of the older form ulter meaning 'beyond' or 'on the far side'. From ultimus came the Late Latin verb ultimare, 'to come to an end', which gave English the adjective 'ultimate' in the 1600s for something final or fundamental. The adverb 'ultimately' was then formed in English simply by adding '-ly', and it settled into meaning 'in the end' or 'at the most basic level'. The same far-reaching root shows up in 'ultimatum', a final demand beyond which no further bargaining is offered, and in 'penultimate', literally 'almost last'. The spelling trap lives in the quiet middle: the unstressed '-mate-' is pronounced as a faint schwa, so writers often drop the silent 'e' that the adjective 'ultimate' supplies before '-ly'.

How the word is built

• ultim- (from ultimus: last, farthest)
• -ate (adjective)
• -ly (adverb suffix)