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.
Choi Seung-hyun – better known as T.O.P., aka Thanos from “Squid Game” Season 2 – quietly served up the most earth-shaking comeback album in South Korea this year.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
“Your first line’s coming up. Terrifying. And I remember I said my first line and Meryl sort of chuckled quietly, and I was like, Thank God.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Plus, and I'll say this quietly, Leicester fans, because it has happened before.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
He said, “I’m not going to Washington to sit quietly, protect the status quo, or wait my turn.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
And then there was Benjamin, who was just quietly eating lunch—without doing anything else.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
