briskly

[brisk-lee]

adverb

1. in a quick, active, or vigorous way.

   Health experts recommend walking briskly for at least 30 minutes a day.

   Faroese music seems to sell briskly in Iceland.

2. in a sharp and stimulating way.

   The wind was blowing briskly as we started out on our early morning hike.

3. in an abrupt or curt way.

   When we finally finished eating, the irritated guards briskly yanked away our trays and stormed out.

Word History and Origins

Origin of briskly¹

brisk ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

“As Agatha Swanburne often said, ‘Mind your business, for if you don’t, who will?’” she replied briskly, when the girls dared to ask about her travels.

Read more on Literature

“Time to get back to our lessons,” she said, clapping her hands briskly three times, just the way Miss Mortimer used to do to signal an end to a birthday party.

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“Whether it is a nuthatch or a warbler is perhaps a matter for debate,” Penelope said briskly as she shut the wide-open nursery windows and fastened the latch for good measure.

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And with that, Penelope started to march briskly toward the palace.

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Office workers probably circulate documents more briskly than ever, but most of today’s action involves electronic distribution of PDFs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• nimbly 
• rapidly 
• vigorously