Broadly means in a general way, without focusing on specific details or exceptions. When your teacher says the class broadly understands fractions, she means most students get the main idea, even if some still struggle with particular problems. When a scientist says a theory is broadly accepted, it means the majority of experts agree, though a few might have doubts.

The word asks you to zoom out and look at the big picture rather than getting caught up in every small variation. If someone asks what your summer was like and you say it was broadly successful, you mean overall things went well, even if you had a few bad days mixed in.

Broadly often appears in the phrase broadly speaking, which signals you're about to make a general statement that might not be true in every single case. “Broadly speaking, reptiles lay eggs” is accurate, even though a few reptile species give birth to live young. The word reminds us that we can make useful general statements without listing every exception or special case.