daintily
Americanadverb
-
in a way that shows fine or delicate manners or tastes.
She'd been nibbling daintily on a sparerib; now she dabbed her lips with a napkin.
-
with particular care to avoid soiling, spilling, damage, etc.; fastidiously.
We piled our trash daintily atop overfilled garbage cans.
-
delicately and beautifully, or with fine, exquisite detail.
I was glad for the moment to be neither an ornithologist nor an entomologist, so that I might leave every one of these daintily colored sunbirds and butterflies to the enjoyment of its life.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of daintily
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.
McDonald’s has been the object of social-media derision since a Feb. 3 video of its CEO nibbling daintily at the chain’s latest offering, the multilayer Big Arch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Not every collection is a success: a delicate red-orange shrimp daintily eludes the suction tube, swirling its long antenna as it swims almost triumphantly beyond reach.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
At one point, she daintily wraps a piece of tulle ribbon around a raw fish carcass.
From Salon ● May 16, 2023
As Napoleon strolled into the dining tent, his chef quickly fried up the eggs from his steward’s pocket and placed them daintily atop the general’s feast.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 12, 2023
When the Captain took a swing at him there, he leaped daintily to the floor, taking a cup down with his tail.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
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.
