obviously
/ˈɒbviəsli/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɑːbviəsli/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈäb-vē-əs-lē/ (ame, mw)
obviously — adverb
1. so that anyone watching or listening can see, notice, or work it out for themsel
so that anyone watching or listening can see, notice, or work it out for themselves without help; also placed at the start of a sentence to flag a fact the speaker assumes the listener already knows or will accept without argument.
Obviously, the children were tired after walking around the zoo all afternoon.
sentence-initial 'Obviously,' flagging a fact the listener can easily accept
Maya was obviously upset when Jordan forgot her birthday again.
be + obviously + adjective showing visible emotion
The kitchen window was obviously broken from the inside, so the police suspected the owner.
Obviously, I'd love to help you move on Saturday, but I'll be in Taipei for my sister's wedding.
Carlos kept staring at his phone, obviously waiting for a reply from the recruiter.
- clearly
very close in meaning; slightly more neutral and less likely to sound condescending.
- evidently
more formal; suggests the speaker is drawing a conclusion from evidence rather than stating common knowledge.
- plainly
more literary; emphasises that something is in plain sight rather than shared knowledge.
- of course
discourse marker only; cannot modify a single adjective the way 'obviously' can.
- apparently
marks something as based on hearsay or appearance — the speaker is less certain it is true.
- supposedly
signals doubt or distance from the claim, the opposite of 'obviously's confident framing.
文法句型
Obviously, + clause
be + obviously + adjective
obviously + verb
用法筆記
Frequently sentence-initial as a discourse marker that signals 'we both already know this'. Tone matters: said warmly it builds rapport, but stressed ('OBviously') or paired with 'not' ('Obviously not!') it can sound sharp or condescending, as if the listener should not have asked.