softly
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English softely, softeliche, equivalent to soft + -ly.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɔftli/
- (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ˈsɑftli/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsɒftli/
Audio (US): (file)
Adverb
[edit]softly (comparative softlier or more softly, superlative softliest or most softly)
- In a soft manner; gently.
- The masseuse was rubbing my back too softly for my liking, so I asked her to go harder.
- 1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:
- He had married a lady well educated and softly nurtured, but not dowered with worldly wealth. […] They would give up ideas of gentle living, of soft raiment, and delicate feeding.
- Not loudly; nearly inaudibly.
- whisper softly in someone's ear
- play music softly
- With subdued color; faded or misty with distance.
- 1928, Grace Moon, “VII. The Tale of the Sacred Eagle”, in The Runaway Papoose:
- And they sat very still, the two of them, and looked out over that great, beautiful desert—away to the home mesa that they could see, softly blue, in the distance.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]softly, gently
|
not loudly, inaudible
|
with subdued color
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms suffixed with -ly (adverbial)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adverbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations