full well

English

Etymology

From Middle English fol wel, fulwel, from Old English ful wel, equivalent to full +‎ well. Compare Old Norse all-vel (“full well”).

Adverb

full well (not comparable)

  1. Very well
    • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː
      He is so fair, without lease, he seems full well to sit on this.
    • 1829, Charles Burroughs, Memoirs and select papers of Horace B. Morse, Miller and Brewster, pages 83-87:
      Besides, there is always a tendency—indeed an interest—to take on what one knows full well.
    • 2006. Nadia Yassine. Full Sails Ahead. Justice and Spirituality Publications. page 2.
      He knows full well that I don't like that club.

Usage notes

Full was formerly used as an adverb in English. This has largely been replaced by fully, but full well remains in common usage, almost always modifying the verb to know. It is sometimes corrected to fully well, though this may be seen as incorrect or a hypercorrection.

See also

References
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