adverb
-
in a jaunty or high-spirited manner
-
in a light or delicate manner
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of airily
First recorded in 1760–70; see airy, -ly ( def. )
Explanation
When you do something airily, you do it in a casual, offhanded way. You might hide your excitement at meeting a movie star by airily saying, "Oh, hi." If you speak or behave airily, you give the impression that you don't really care. If a local politician responds airily to a citizen's legitimate concerns about crime, she's likely to suffer some criticism for not taking her constituents seriously enough. Airily comes from airy, originally defined as "with ostentatious air."
Vocabulary lists containing airily
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Streetcar Named Desire
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
This led me to be very wary of people airily predicting that democracy was finished, and made me alive to the way that, paradoxically, such nightmares can actually damage democracy.
From Salon • May 7, 2025
I told my story light and airily, but it was heavy when it happened.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024
They complain, as many people in their age cohort do, rather airily about “capitalism.”
From Slate • Sep. 1, 2021
When two newspapers reported he had accepted diamonds from self-proclaimed Central African Emperor Bokassa I, Giscard airily refused comment and stopped reading them.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 3, 2020
“Oh, we sold him in Cochin,” Rahel said airily.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions 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.
