adverb
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with ease; without difficulty or exertion
-
by far; beyond question; undoubtedly
he is easily the best in the contest
-
probably; almost certainly
he may easily come first
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of easily
First recorded in 1250–1300, easily is from the Middle English word esily. See easy, -ly
Explanation
Things that happen easily don't require a lot of effort. When your old car starts easily on a very cold morning, you'll breathe a sigh of relief. While you can only climb a mountain with difficulty, you can probably climb the stairs in your house easily. You can also use this adverb to mean something closer to "quickly," as when you describe your puppy as easily distracted with treats or yourself as easily bored by long books. The Old French root of easily is aisie, "comfortable" or "at ease."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Most importantly, he’s an excellent communicator who can boil down complex policy ideas into easily digestible concepts without dumbing them down.
From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026
Although there are some consumer models available, the pumps are largely aimed at potential bulk buyers like housing authorities and landlords, usually those looking to easily and inexpensively upgrade or supplement older heating systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
A keen fan could easily end up paying £80 to £100 a month.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The experiments revealed an extraordinary difference in how easily the vortices could move depending on their direction.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
I hold my hand over hers to show her how to make the sweep of the G, and then the other letters come easily.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
