Gravely
Americannoun
Explanation
To do something gravely means to do it in a solemn, serious way. When someone gives you bad news, they often say it gravely. If you ask about a sick relative and your dad gravely shakes his head, you'll know that the relative isn't feeling better. Anything you do or say gravely conveys a sense of solemnity. Another way to use this word is to mean "to an alarming degree," like a person who is gravely ill or a gravely mistaken answer to a test question. Gravely is from the adjective grave and its Latin root gravis, "heavy."
Vocabulary lists containing gravely
The Battle of the Labyrinth
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"Little Red Riding Hood" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
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"The Midnight Children" by Dan Gemeinhart, Chapters 1–6
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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.
Robert Ramsubhag, chief executive of the port, said commercial container traffic would be limited while the Gravely is docked.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 26, 2025
The USS Gravely, whose upcoming arrival was announced Thursday by the Trinidadian government, docked in the capital, Port of Spain.
From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025
Two others identifying themselves as the USS Gravely and USS Jason Dunham last transmitted their locations in mid-August, at the American base in Guantanamo Bay.
From BBC • Sep. 3, 2025
Santa Margarita 5, JSerra 1: A three-run triple by Warren Gravely IV in the top of the ninth inning keyed the Eagles’ Trinity League win.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2025
Gravely wounded in World War I, he had survived and returned an even greater maestro.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
