quietly
Doing anything quietly means doing it while making very little noise. When you sneak down to the kitchen for that last piece of pie, you should tiptoe quietly past the rooms of your sleeping siblings.
If the librarian frowns at you, puts a finger to his lips, and says "Shhhh!", it means he would like you to speak more quietly while you're in the library. Use this adverb for anything you do in a soft, hushed, or faint way. Whisper quietly when you don't want to be overheard, and chew your food quietly unless you really want to irritate your brother.
Definitions of quietly
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with low volume
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with little or no sound“the class was listening quietly and intently”“she was crying quietly”
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Antonyms:
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noisily
with much noise or loud and unpleasant sound
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noisily
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with little or no activity or no agitation (`quiet' is a nonstandard variant for `quietly')
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in a restful manner
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synonyms:
restfully
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘quietly'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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