freely
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of freely
before 900; Middle English freliche, Old English frēolīce. See free, -ly
Explanation
When you do something freely, you act without restraint or control by anyone or anything. Weekends are best when you can freely choose when to wake up and what to do with your days. Many people spend their childhoods yearning to be older so they can freely live their lives. On a smaller scale, if you let your backyard chickens roam unchecked around your property, they can move freely; and if you ice skate on a lake instead of a small indoor rink, you can move freely, in any direction, without being scolded. Freely comes from free, with its Old English root freo, "acting of one's own will."
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.
Open-source AI refers to models that can be freely used and modified.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
Perhaps the band’s greatest strength is being able to project an intimate familiarity with the present, while drawing freely from the ’60s and ’70s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
De Vaan said private messages offer employees a chance to brainstorm freely, which could be stifled with public messages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Instead, the particles that make them up - quarks and gluons - moved freely in a kind of hot "soup."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
He freely offered up the story about his father.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
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.
