bravely

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English brave

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der.

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Proto-West Germanic *-līkē

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English bravely

From brave + -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹeɪvli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: brave‧ly

Adverb

bravely (comparative bravelier or more bravely, superlative braveliest or most bravely)

1. In a brave manner.

   The soldiers faced the enemy bravely.

   • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     Here, here, here's an excellent place; here we may see most bravely: I'll tell you them all by their names as they pass by; but mark Troilus above the rest.

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 76, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

     No, they hold there a large, round wad of tow and cork, enveloped in the thickest and toughest of ox-hide. That bravely and uninjured takes the jam which would have snapped all their oaken handspikes and iron crow-bars.

   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:

     [H]e stepped forward and said bravely, though his hand trembled, and his face was as pale as snow:—
     “My true friend, from the bottom of my broken heart I thank you. Tell me what I am to do, and I shall not falter!”

   • 2025 November 16, Daniel Altschuler, Javier Corrales, “How government repression is born – and how to resist it”, in The Guardian‎^[1], archived from the original on 24 December 2025:

     To meet it, pro-democracy organizations, universities and law firms must bravely speak up against abuses of power while building the broadest possible coalition to stand up for fundamental rights.

Translations

in a brave manner

• Armenian: քաջաբար (hy) (kʻaǰabar)
• Catalan: valentament (ca), coratjosament (ca)
• Finnish: rohkeasti (fi), urheasti (fi), uljaasti (fi)
• French: bravement (fr)
• Hungarian: bátran (hu)
• Macedonian: храбро (hrabro), смело (smelo)
• Marathi: शौर्याने (śauryāne), शूरपणे (śūrapṇe), शूरपणाने (śūrapṇāne)
• Middle English: douȝtily
• Norman: bravement
• Romanian: curajos (ro), brav (ro), vitejește (ro)
• Russian: сме́ло (ru) (smélo), хра́бро (ru) (xrábro), отва́жно (ru) (otvážno), до́блестно (ru) (dóblestno)
• Spanish: valientemente (es)