Meaning & use
diligently
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Meaning
adverbcomparable
In a careful, steady way that shows hard work and attention to detail.
Grammar: Usually follows the verb or sits before it: she worked diligently.
Patterns
- work diligently on something
- study diligently for something
She studied diligently for the entrance exam all spring.
The volunteers worked diligently to clean the beach.
He diligently recorded every expense in a notebook.
Word forms
| comparative | more diligently |
|---|---|
| superlative | most diligently |
Common combinations
- work diligently
- The team worked diligently through the night.
- study diligently
- She studied diligently for the bar exam.
- diligently pursue
- The detective diligently pursued every clue.
- practice diligently
- He practiced diligently each morning before school.
- diligently follow
- Patients should diligently follow the doctor's instructions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- conscientiously
- Conscientiously stresses doing what is right and careful out of a sense of duty, while diligently stresses sustained effort.
- industriously
- Industriously suggests busy and productive activity, without the careful tone.
- assiduously
- Assiduously is more formal and implies steady, unfailing attention, often over a long time.
- carefully
- Carefully is about avoiding errors, whereas diligently also suggests persistence.
Opposites
Word family
- diligent adjective
- showing careful, steady effort
- diligence noun
- careful and persistent work
- due diligence noun
- careful checking before a deal
- undiligent adjective
- not careful or hardworking (rare)
Commonly confused: diligently or dutifully? diligently or deliberately?
diligently vs dutifully
Dutifully means done because it is a duty, not necessarily with careful effort.
diligently vs deliberately
Deliberately means done on purpose, whereas diligently means done with sustained effort.
Practice
The gardener worked ____ every day, pulling weeds and watering the beds until the whole plot was perfect.
Choose one answer.
Diligently means with steady, careful effort, which fits the daily care. Deliberately means on purpose, dutifully means out of duty, and drastically means in an extreme way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “diligently”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.