Full well or fully well

[Yb167]

Hello! I am kind of confused with the usage of full well in this context. Can someone help me?

"Oh, it seems like you dont understand it full well."

I saw someone type this in the chat while I was playing an online game and it somehow confused me. Shouldn't it be fully well?

 

[teechar]

"Oh, it seems like you don't understand it full well."

It's not a mistake.

know full well

1. to understand a situation completely: 2. to understand a situation…

dictionary.cambridge.org

Definition of FULL WELL

very well… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

 

[Yb167]

It's not a mistake.

know full well

1. to understand a situation completely: 2. to understand a situation…

dictionary.cambridge.org

Definition of FULL WELL

very well… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

Is fully well also correct here?

 

[teechar]

It's okay, but "full well" is more common.

Google Books Ngram Viewer

Google Ngrams: full well, fully well, 1800-2019

books.google.com

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think I've ever used "full well" with anything other than "know".

You know full well that's not what I meant.
He knows full well what she's saying.
They know full well what they're meant to do.

 

[jutfrank]

I consider it wrong. It's probably a learner error. The phrase is 'know full well'.

Is 'fully well' also correct here?

No.

 

[jutfrank]

I've been thinking about this for the last few minutes. Now I think it can sometimes be used with the verb 'understand'.

She understands full well what she has to do.

What do you think, @emsr2d2? Does that sound right to you?

Regardless, I'd still count the sentence in post #1 as incorrect. Probably because of the negative.

 

[teechar]

"knows fully well"

Opinion | Beijing cools on Mugabe (Published 2007)

www.nytimes.com

Islamic State: Saudi Arabia's oil wells are the ultimate goal for Isis

For the terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS) or Isis, Syria and Iraq were a good place to start their campaign, but in order to survive and prosper it knew from the outset that it had no choice but to set its sights on the ultimate prize: the oil fields of Saudi Arabia.

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

George North to draw on Wales experiences of touring New Zealand ahead of gruelling Lions tour

Exclusive: The 25-year-old spoke to The Independent about the lessons he learned from the 2016 series against the All Blacks

www.independent.co.uk

Peers vote to keep UK in EEA as 83 Labour peers defy orders to abstain – as it happened

Peers vote against specifying 29 March 2019 as Brexit day

www.theguardian.com

My son spent hundreds of pounds on in-app purchases without me knowing

When his nine-year-old son started playing Fifa on the iPad, Harry Wallop didn't realise he was about to learn an expensive lesson in parenting

www.telegraph.co.uk

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/inmates-get-sentence-cuts-over-industrial-action-by-prison-wardens/news-story/3da75f4a8a8dbfba94f607e7dae55384

 

[emsr2d2]

I've been thinking about this for the last few minutes. Now I think it can sometimes be used with the verb 'understand'.

She understands full well what she has to do.

What do you think, @emsr2d2? Does that sound right to you?

Regardless, I'd still count the sentence in post #1 as incorrect. Probably because of the negative.

I agree with you. I don't think I've used it but I've almost certainly heard it. I definitely don't think it works in the negative or interrogative.