kindly
Americanadjective
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having, showing, or proceeding from a benevolent disposition or spirit; kindhearted.
kindly people.
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gentle or mild, as rule or laws.
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pleasant, agreeable, or benign.
kindly climate.
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favorable, as soil for crops.
adjective
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having a sympathetic or warm-hearted nature
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motivated by warm and sympathetic feelings
a kindly act
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pleasant, mild, or agreeable
a kindly climate
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archaic natural; normal
adverb
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in a considerate or humane way
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with tolerance or forbearance
he kindly forgave my rudeness
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cordially; pleasantly
he greeted us kindly
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please (often used to express impatience or formality)
will you kindly behave yourself!
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archaic in accordance with nature; appropriately
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to react unfavourably towards
Synonym Usage
See kind 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kindly
First recorded before 900; Middle English kyndly (adjective and adverb), Old English gecyndelīc “natural,” gecyndelīce “naturally”; see kind 1, -ly
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.
"With what you kindly pay Robert, and what he can pick up elsewhere, and the sewing I do, I think we can get along."
From Robert Coverdale's Struggle Or, On The Wave Of Success by Alger, Horatio
"Mr. Burton, will you kindly pay for me?"
From The End of Her Honeymoon by Lowndes, Marie Belloc
You will kindly pay me for that story.
From The Time of Roses by Meade, L. T.
"Our luggage," explained Rickie, "comes in the hotel omnibus, if you would kindly pay a shilling for mine."
From The Longest Journey by Forster, E. M. (Edward Morgan)
Meanwhile, I beg you, my friends, of your good feeling, to pay the same respects and courtesies to the Countess of Urach as you, so kindly, pay to myself.'
From A German Pompadour Being the Extraordinary History of Wilhelmine van Grävenitz, Landhofmeisterin of Wirtemberg by Hay, Marie, Hon. (Agnes Blanche Marie)
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.
