archly

American  

[ahrch-lee] / ˈɑrtʃ li /

adverb

1. in an arch or roguish manner.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unarchly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of archly

First recorded in 1655–65; arch ² + -ly

Explanation

If you say something archly, you express it in a teasing sort of way. When someone acts archly toward you, it might offend you a bit, or it might make you laugh. You act archly when you put on an affected style of speech, or say something that's playfully sarcastic. You might archly dismiss a teacher's criticism of your work or smile archly as you tease a friend. The adverb comes from the 1500s adjective arch, which originally meant "chief," but was so often used to describe a "knave" or "rogue" that by the 17th century it came to mean "mischievous" or "saucy."

Example Sentences

As Ganz archly observed, “the word for the politics that makes a pastiche of past glories to create a new type of regime is ‘fascism.'”

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2025

Writing in Reforma newspaper, columnist Denise Dresser archly compared the election to a long-planned gala that no one attends.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2025

“Why not amuse yourselves at our expense?” he wrote archly.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

The “F-word,” as aid workers archly call it, retains an emotive resonance, able to galvanize global attention and, crucially, to unlock vast amounts of donations.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2022

He smiled archly, as if he had just thought up this quip he had been making for weeks.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez