well¹

  • adverb (better, best) 1 in a good or satisfactory way. 2 in a condition of prosperity or comfort. 3 in a favourable or approving manner. 4 in a thorough manner. 5 to a great extent or degree; very much. 6 Brit. informal very; extremely: he was well out of order. 7 very probably; in all likelihood. 8 without difficulty. 9 with good reason. archaic luckily; opportunely: hail fellow, well met.

  • adjective (better, best) 1 in good health; free or recovered from illness. 2 in a satisfactory state or position. 3 sensible; advisable.

  • exclamation used to express surprise, anger, resignation, etc., or when pausing in speech.

  — PHRASES as well in addition; too. as well (or just as well) 1 with equal reason or an equally good result. 2 sensible, appropriate, or desirable. be well out of Brit. informal be fortunate to be no longer involved in. be well up on know a great deal about. leave (or let) well alone refrain from interfering with or trying to improve something. well and truly completely.

  — USAGE When well is used with a past participle, such as ‘built’, and the resulting compound precedes the noun, it is advisable to use a hyphen, as in a tall, well-built man; usually a hyphen is not used when the compound stands alone, as in her remarks were well intentioned.

  — ORIGIN Old English, probably related to WILL¹.