Meaning & use
damply
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Meanings
adverb
In a slightly wet way, so that something feels cool and moist to the touch.
Grammar: An adverb of manner; it usually follows the verb it describes: 'the towel hung damply.'
Patterns
- verb + damply
- damply + adjective
The washing hung damply on the line after the short shower.
Her hair lay damply against her neck after the swim.
The cellar smelled damply of old stone and rain.
adverbliterary
In a way that shows little warmth or enthusiasm, as if the feeling has gone flat.
Grammar: Used mostly of voices, greetings and applause; it describes the manner, not the weather.
Patterns
- say something damply
- greet someone damply
"I suppose so," he answered damply, without looking up.
The small crowd clapped damply and then drifted away.
She smiled damply, as though the news had taken the energy out of her.
Common combinations
- hang damply
- The coats hung damply by the door all evening.
- lie damply
- Mist lay damply over the fields at dawn.
- smell damply of something
- The hallway smelled damply of wet umbrellas.
- answer damply
- He answered damply, his voice barely above a whisper.
- shine damply
- The stones shone damply in the gray morning light.
- cling damply to something
- Her shirt clung damply to her back.
Synonyms and how they differ
- moistly
- Very close in meaning, but moistly often suggests a pleasant or intended slight wetness, as of cake or skin, while damply suggests something that should be dry.
- wetly
- Wetly means clearly soaked or covered in liquid, which is much stronger than the faint moisture damply describes.
- clammy
- Clammy is an adjective for skin that is unpleasantly cold and wet; damply describes how an action is done, not how something feels.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: damply or damply vs damply? damply or dimly?
damply vs damply vs damply
Learners sometimes write 'damply' where the adjective 'damp' is needed: say 'a damp cloth,' not 'a damply cloth.'
damply vs dimly
Dimly means with little light or unclear understanding and sounds similar; keep it apart from damply, which is about moisture.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'damply' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Damply' is an adverb, so it describes how the towel hung: 'hung damply.' Option 0 needs the adjective 'damp' after 'felt,' option 2 puts an adverb before a noun where an adjective belongs, and option 3 uses an adverb as if it were a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “damply”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.