slowly

[ sloh-lee ]

adverb

1. in a slow manner; at a slow speed:

   Sauté the peppers slowly.

   I drove slowly back home.

Confusables Note

See slow.

Word History and Origins

Origin of slowly¹

First recorded in 1310–50; Middle English slawliche, slawly; slow ( def ), -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

This time, the growth is happening even more slowly — we have an even better warning.

From Vox

The “wall of smoke” is slowly dispersing, recent images show, and it has now started to move over the rest of the country.

From Popular-Science

As superfast 5G wireless technology slowly rolls out across the country for consumers, Verizon is also planning business applications that might bring in more revenue sooner.

From Fortune

Partial indexing is often connected to a website using JavaScript, but this is slowly changing.

From Search Engine Land

It is much easier, I suspect, to imagine that our minds could slowly fill with dehumanizing representations of another group, especially if we are repeatedly bombarded with such representations.

From Nautilus

Slowly, two were opened up, and in 2010 the regional government opened all four Brogpa villages in a push for tourism.

From The Daily Beast

Slowly, slowly, dance classes may cease to be such secret and guilty pleasures in Iran.

From The Daily Beast

In my eyes she killed those people… exposing a gay person like this is akin to torturing him slowly to death.

From The Daily Beast

Airline pilots are now slowly, too slowly, being given access to flight simulators able to reproduce sudden and unexpected upsets.

From The Daily Beast

“The lies of the government shocked us,” says Fatima, as the tears flow slowly from her eyes and down her cheek.

From The Daily Beast

Sol got up, slowly; took a backward step into the yard; filled his lungs, opened his mouth, made his eyes round.

From Project Gutenberg

Again the sallow fingers began to play with the book-covers, passing from one to another, but always slowly and gently.

From Project Gutenberg

The lovers got up, with only a silent protest, and walked slowly away somewhere else.

From Project Gutenberg

He spoke clearly and slowly, well knowing that some among the natives would understand him.

From Project Gutenberg

The conception of the relation of this institution with them as co-operative makes headway slowly.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• calmly
• casually
• deliberately
• gently
• gradually
• haltingly
• lazily
• nonchalantly

More About Slowly

What is a basic definition of slowly?

Slowly is used when something is happening in a slow manner or in a way that lacks speed or quickness.

Slowly is the adverb form of the word slow, which describes something as lacking speed. If you walk slowly, for example, you are not moving quickly. Things that happen slowly take much longer to occur than things that happen quickly.

• Real-life examples: Sloths, snails, and turtles move very slowly. For safety, it is a good idea to drive slowly past schools or construction sites. For most people, time moves slowly when they are bored, at school, or at work.
• Used in a sentence: She picked up the broken glass slowly and carefully.

Where does slowly come from?

The first records of slowly come from around 1310. It comes from the Middle English slawliche or slawly. It is an adverb formed from the word slow.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to slowly?

• slow (adjective)

What are some synonyms for slowly?

• lazily
• leisurely
• unhurried
• deliberately
• calmly

What are some words that share a root or word element with slowly?

• slow

What are some words that often get used in discussing slowly?

• quickly
• time
• speed
• movement
• care
• steadily

How is slowly used in real life?

Slowly is a common adverb that describes something as happening with low speed or at a slow pace.

Slowly digging myself out of credit card debt is a great feeling.

— Jake Marquis (@jakesonaplane) January 27, 2021

Just crushed an 8km run. Slowly working my way up to 8.00004km. Should achieve goal next year with proper training and diet.

— Matt Webb (@MattWebbMT) May 27, 2014

That said, we moved slowly and methodically to make sure we picked up every scrap of the unexploded ordnance. #MythBusters

— Adam Savage (@donttrythis) January 10, 2016

Try using slowly!

Is slowly used correctly in the following sentence?

I find math to be hard, so I learn it slowly.