well
Other forms: weller; welled; welling
When you do something well, you do it in a good or satisfactory way. You can say, "I did really well on my French test," or "Finally, I slept well last night."
When well is a noun, it means "a deep hole full of water or oil." When well is an adverb, it describes the way something's done. If you're not sure when to use well and when to use good, think about what you're describing. If it's a thing, then you can call it good, like a "good book." If you're talking about an action, you should use well: "I always do well on math quizzes," or "You speak Chinese really well."
Definitions of well
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(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (`good' is a nonstandard dialectal variant for `well')
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favorably; with approval
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with skill or in a pleasing manner
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in a manner affording benefit or advantage“she married well”
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synonyms:
advantageously
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antonyms:
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badly, disadvantageously
in a disadvantageous way; to someone's disadvantage
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badly, disadvantageously
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in financial comfort“They live well”
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synonyms:
comfortably
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with prudence or propriety“You would do well to say nothing more”“could not well refuse”
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without unusual distress or resentment; with good humor“took the joke well”“took the tragic news well”
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antonyms:
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badly
with unusual distress or resentment or regret or emotional display
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badly
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to a great extent or degree“I'm afraid the film was well over budget”
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synonyms:
considerably, substantially
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with great or especially intimate knowledge“we knew them well”
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synonyms:
intimately
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(used for emphasis or as an intensifier) entirely or fully“a book well worth reading”“was well aware of the difficulties ahead”“suspected only too well what might be going on”
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thoroughly or completely; fully; often used as a combining form“The problem is well understood”“she was well informed”“shake well before using”“in order to avoid food poisoning be sure the meat is well cooked”“" well-done beef", "well-satisfied customers”“well-educated”
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to a suitable or appropriate extent or degree“the project was well underway”“his father was well pleased with his grades”
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resulting favorably
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in good health especially after having suffered illness or injury“appears to be entirely well”“the wound is nearly well”“a well man”“I think I'm well”“at least I feel well”
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synonyms:
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fit
physically and mentally sound or healthy
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healthy
having or indicating good health in body or mind; free from infirmity or disease
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asymptomatic, symptomless
having no symptoms of illness or disease
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cured, healed, recovered
freed from illness or injury
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antonyms:
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ill, sick
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
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unfit
not in good physical or mental condition; out of condition
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unhealthy
not in or exhibiting good health in body or mind
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afflicted, stricken
grievously affected especially by disease
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aguish
affected by ague
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ailing, indisposed, peaked, poorly, seedy, sickly, under the weather, unwell
somewhat ill or prone to illness
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air sick, airsick, carsick, seasick
experiencing motion sickness
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autistic
characteristic of or affected with autism
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bedfast, bedrid, bedridden, sick-abed
confined to bed (by illness)
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bilious, liverish, livery
suffering from or suggesting a liver disorder or gastric distress
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bronchitic
suffering from or prone to bronchitis
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consumptive
afflicted with or associated with pulmonary tuberculosis
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convalescent, recovering
returning to health after illness or debility
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delirious, hallucinating
experiencing delirium
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diabetic
suffering from diabetes
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dizzy, giddy, vertiginous, woozy
having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling
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dyspeptic
suffering from dyspepsia
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faint, light, light-headed, lightheaded, swooning
weak and likely to lose consciousness
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feverish, feverous
having or affected by a fever
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funny
experiencing odd bodily sensations
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gouty
suffering from gout
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green
looking pale and unhealthy
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laid low, stricken
put out of action (by illness)
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laid up
ill and usually confined
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milk-sick
affected with or related to milk sickness
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nauseated, nauseous, queasy, sick, sickish
feeling nausea; feeling about to vomit
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palsied
affected with palsy or uncontrollable tremor
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paralytic, paralyzed
affected with paralysis
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paraplegic
suffering complete paralysis of the lower half of the body usually resulting from damage to the spinal cord
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rachitic, rickety
affected with, suffering from, or characteristic of rickets
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scrofulous
afflicted with scrofula
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sneezy
inclined to sneeze
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spastic
suffering from spastic paralysis
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tubercular, tuberculous
constituting or afflicted with or caused by tuberculosis or the tubercle bacillus
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unhealed
not healed
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upset
mildly physically distressed
- show more antonyms...
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fit
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wise or advantageous and hence advisable“it would be well to start early”
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synonyms:
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advisable
worthy of being recommended or suggested; prudent or wise
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advisable
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indicating high probability; in all likelihood“I might well do it”“you may well need your umbrella”“he could equally well be trying to deceive us”
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synonyms:
easily
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a deep hole or shaft dug or drilled to obtain water or oil or gas or brine
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types:
- show 9 types...
- hide 9 types...
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artesian well
a well drilled through impermeable strata into strata that receive water from a higher altitude so there is pressure to force the water to flow upward
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driven well, tube well
a well made by driving a tube into the earth to a stratum that bears water
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gas well
a well that yields or has yielded natural gas
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oil well, oiler
a well that yields or has yielded oil
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sump
a well or other hole in which water has collected
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gusher
an oil well with a strong natural flow so that pumping is not necessary
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spouter
an oil well that is spouting
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stripper, stripper well
an oil well whose production has declined to less than ten barrels a day
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wildcat, wildcat well
an exploratory oil well drilled in land not known to be an oil field
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type of:
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excavation
a hole in the ground made by excavating
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an open shaft through the floors of a building (as for a stairway)
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a cavity or vessel used to contain liquid
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an enclosed compartment in a ship or plane for holding something as e.g. fish or a plane's landing gear or for protecting something as e.g. a ship's pumps
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types:
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bilge well
(nautical) a well where seepage drains to be pumped away
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pump well
an enclosure in the middle of a ship's hold that protects the ship's pumps
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type of:
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compartment
a partitioned section, chamber, or separate room within a larger enclosed area
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bilge well
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an abundant source“she was a well of information”
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synonyms:
fountainhead, wellspring
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type of:
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source
a document (or organization) from which information is obtained
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source
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come up, as of a liquid
Pronunciation
US
/wɛl/
UK
/wɛl/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘well'.
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