quietly
Britishadverb
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in a quiet manner
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between you and me; confidentially
Explanation
Doing anything quietly means doing it while making very little noise. When you sneak down to the kitchen for that last piece of pie, you should tiptoe quietly past the rooms of your sleeping siblings. If the librarian frowns at you, puts a finger to his lips, and says "Shhhh!", it means he would like you to speak more quietly while you're in the library. Use this adverb for anything you do in a soft, hushed, or faint way. Whisper quietly when you don't want to be overheard, and chew your food quietly unless you really want to irritate your brother.
Vocabulary lists containing quietly
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.
Despite the uproar, the former majority owner of TikTok has quietly continued to court filmmakers, independent artists and executives who are eager to adopt the AI video generation model called Seedance.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2026
I love how she has gone off quietly and worked her way back to the top level.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026
Further, when a member of the court makes an error in an opinion, they can quietly tweak it in-house to correct it.
From Slate • Jul. 2, 2026
Along with the AI features, Meta quietly started adding facial-recognition tools to its Ray-Bans, which has already made them popular in various branches of DHS.
From Salon • Jul. 2, 2026
As quietly as I could, I opened the door, held the lantern up, and looked in.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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.
