Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

dearly

 adverb
     
dear‧ly
1 very much:
James loved her dearly.
I would dearly like to know what she said.
2 in a way that involves a lot of suffering, damage, trouble etc:
The weakness in their defense has already cost them dearly this season.
Ordinary people are paying dearly for the mistakes of this administration.
3

dearly beloved

spoken used by a priest or minister at the beginning of a Christian service
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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