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.
"The first day... unfolded as a carefully choreographed state banquet, served on fine porcelain, while traders quietly inspected the cracks beneath the table. The optics were unquestionably constructive," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
O'Neill is intending to leave Celtic soon - and there is no sign at all that he intends to leave quietly.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
Hollein said he and the Lauder family began quietly fundraising two weeks ago for an endowment to pay for the ongoing upkeep of the museum, officially known as the Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
Researchers found that much of the magma's rise happened quietly, with relatively little seismic activity during its ascent.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
It was the next morning, and he’d just quietly filled Chip in on the contents of his latest letter.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
