bigly

[ big-lee ]
/ ˈbɪg li /
Archaic.

adverb

in a big way; greatly: Their gifts made the children smile bigly.Aaron was tall for his age, and bigly built.
strongly; with violent force: Waves pounded bigly against our starboard side.
boastfully; haughtily: She pronounces her opinions bigly, as if they are divine mandates.

adjective

pleasantly habitable: a settlement of modest but bigly homes.

QUIZZES

DON’T VACILLATE! VANQUISH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

It’d be a real faux pas to miss this quiz on the words from August 3–9, 2020!
Question 1 of 7
What does “vacillate” mean?
to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.
to cause to be empty or unoccupied.
to assent tacitly; agree; consent.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bigly

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ; see big1 + -ly

historical usage of bigly

Adding the suffix -ly is a thoroughly standard way to form an adverb from an adjective. However, although bigly was in use from about 1400 to the early 1900s, it never quite caught on in English, perhaps because the adjective big also quite adequately functions as an adverb: to win big.

Words nearby bigly

bigleaf maple, big league, big-leaguer, big-leaved magnolia, big lie, bigly, big mama, big media, big money, bigmouth, bigmouth buffalofish
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for bigly