slowly
Americanadverb
Usage
What is a basic definition of slowly? Slowly is used when something is happening in a slow manner or in a way that lacks speed or quickness. Slowly is the adverb form of the word slow, which describes something as lacking speed. If you walk slowly, for example, you are not moving quickly. Things that happen slowly take much longer to occur than things that happen quickly.
- Real-life examples: Sloths, snails, and turtles move very slowly. For safety, it is a good idea to drive slowly past schools or construction sites. For most people, time moves slowly when they are bored, at school, or at work.
- Used in a sentence: She picked up the broken glass slowly and carefully.
Commonly Confused
See slow.
Etymology
Origin of slowly
First recorded in 1310–50; Middle English slawliche, slawly; see slow ( def. ), -ly ( def. )
Explanation
When you take a long, long time to do something, you act slowly. And when things move at a low speed, they go slowly, like the storm clouds that slowly roll in during your school picnic. A new driver tends to drive slowly, foot just barely pressing the gas pedal, just as someone learning a new language often speaks slowly, taking extra time to choose the right words. You may have also noticed that time seems to move slowly when you're doing something incredibly boring. In all of these cases, the adverb slowly describes something occurring at a low speed.
Vocabulary lists containing slowly
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.
“It just slowly over time became too much until I did just have this explosion moment. I was playing those songs every night, and it didn’t feel like me anymore.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
His immediate priority is to "build things up slowly with fitness" and catch up on schoolwork, initially through online lessons before gradually returning to the classroom.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The hurricane -- downgraded a notch to Category 3 strength on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale -- was moving slowly and remained dangerous.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Even more remarkably, the transfer of material appears to be happening so slowly that the star could continue feeding on its companion for hundreds of thousands of years, potentially even billions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
With his hand poised above the tooth, he moved the flame slowly to and fro.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
