wryly

[ rahy-lee ]

adverb

1. in a mockingly or amusingly ironic way:

   It will be an evening of wryly thoughtful musing, whimsical conversation, and a few old-timey songs.

2. in a bitter or scornful way; sardonically:

   The writer wryly adds that he has complete faith in humanity's ability to wake up at the alarm and promptly hit the snooze button.

3. in a distorted, bent, or lopsided manner:

   His lips twisted wryly at the acknowledgment.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wryly¹

wry ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

“That’ll give me something to fill up my time and forget about the pain of losing the election,” she said wryly.

From Voice of San Diego

“I envisage there will be a strong PPE element to the fancy dress,” says McRobbie wryly.

From Time

As Simon Kuper wryly warned in the Financial Times, “If you can do your job from anywhere, then someone anywhere can do your job.”

From Time

Snare drums burst in time with machine-gun fire, and lyrics like “if I wind up broke” and “one-arm bandits crashin’” find wryly grim new meanings.

From The Daily Beast

Consequently, as the scholar Beverley Zabriskie wryly points out, “Readers of … Jung are more familiar with Wolfgang Pauli’s unconscious than with his waking life and achievement.”

From Nautilus

And, as Gow adds wryly from his own personal experience, “To a huge extent they achieved that aim very well.”

From The Daily Beast

He was friendly, a little nervous, getting over a cold, and wryly funny.

From The Daily Beast

“Maybe the article should have been titled ‘The End of Women,’” one commenter wryly observed.

From The Daily Beast

As the publication Pravda wryly observed, the entire theory appears designed to keep young women on the straight and narrow.

From The Daily Beast

On the outbreak of the Second World War, he told friends wryly: ‘At any rate we now have less chance of dying of cancer’.

From The Daily Beast

"Oh, no, you're not giving me any more dopes—" Then he stopped, for suddenly it all seemed wryly humorous to him.

From Project Gutenberg

"It would have been easier to bring along a helicopter," Wayne said wryly.

From Project Gutenberg

As he stood in the rising elevator, Houston wondered wryly if the number 13 was good luck or bad in this case.

From Project Gutenberg

Shann grinned wryly now at the short period of childish hope and half-confidence that he could do big things.

From Project Gutenberg

Gordon grinned wryly; Fats would probably make more than ever.

From Project Gutenberg