fully vs. completely

English as a Second Language English Teacher Explanations (ESL Tests)
1

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #44 [color=blue]“Scandal”, question 10

The reporter had got it … wrong because he found his ticket and he wasn’t ‘fined’, he was simply ‘fine’.

(a) fully
(b) fairly
(c) complete
(d) completely

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #44 [color=blue]“Scandal”, answer 10

The reporter had got it completely wrong because he found his ticket and he wasn’t ‘fined’, he was simply ‘fine’.

Correct answer: (d) completely

Your answer was: [color=red]incorrect
The reporter had got it fully wrong because he found his ticket and he wasn’t ‘fined’, he was simply ‘fine’.
[size=200]_________________________[/size]

Reading my dictionaries, I fail to understand the difference beetwen fully and completely.
Could you give me examples ?

2

Hi Philippe,

‘Fully’ suggests completed to the last detail as in: You must fully understand how this machine works before you can use it. ‘Complexity’ is often used for emphasis and is similar to ‘utterly’ ‘absolutely’ and the expression ‘completely wrong’ suggests that you couldn’t have got it more wrong.

Alan