Obviously means in a way anybody can see. He was obviously lying. Obviously, we will need more time.
It does two jobs. Before an adjective or verb it means visibly: obviously upset, obviously broken. At the start of a sentence it introduces something the speaker thinks is beyond argument — and that is where it gets dangerous, because saying obviously about something the listener does not find obvious is a quick way to sound superior. Careful speakers use clearly or of course instead. Note the adjective obvious, and that obviousness is rare and awkward.
1adverbobviouslyIn a way that anybody can see.
“She was obviously exhausted and would not say so.”
synonyms: clearly, plainly, evidently
2adverbintroduceUsed to introduce something taken as beyond argument.
“Obviously it depends on the weather.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
obviously is a manner of being clear.
From obvious + -ly.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA