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.
One of the challenges is that the disease can develop quietly for decades.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
Outside a pub in Clapham, a woman quietly laid flowers for 25-year-old Auguste-Marie Bile-aka Amoa, a bus driver, who was shot dead in in August.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The billionaire venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder quietly bought the property through a limited liability company at a foreclosure auction in Pomona in July, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the sale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
My suffering was trying to tell me something, quietly at first, then louder, until I had to listen.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
But before she could answer, Duane, who was quietly observing everybody, spoke up.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
