Meaning & use
fluidly
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
In a smooth, flowing way with no sudden stops or jerks, especially in movement or performance.
Grammar: Describes how an action is done: she moved fluidly.
The dancer moved fluidly across the stage.
The cat slipped fluidly through the gap in the fence.
He played the melody fluidly, without any hesitation.
adverbcomparable
In a way that changes easily and adapts to new conditions rather than staying fixed.
Grammar: Often follows change or shift: roles shift fluidly.
Teams in the company work fluidly across departments.
The plan evolved fluidly as new information arrived.
Word forms
| comparative | more fluidly |
|---|---|
| superlative | most fluidly |
Common combinations
- move fluidly
- The swimmer moves fluidly through the water.
- flow fluidly
- The conversation flowed fluidly from one topic to the next.
- write fluidly
- She writes fluidly and rarely needs to revise.
- shift fluidly
- The meeting shifted fluidly between plans and jokes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- smoothly
- Smoothly is the everyday word for anything going without trouble, while fluidly stresses graceful, flowing continuity.
- gracefully
- Gracefully emphasizes elegance, while fluidly emphasizes unbroken flow.
- fluently
- Fluently is about speaking a language easily, whereas fluidly describes movement or style.
- seamlessly
- Seamlessly stresses no visible joins between parts, while fluidly stresses flowing motion.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: fluidly or fluently?
fluidly vs fluently
Fluently describes smooth use of language; fluidly describes smooth movement or change.
Practice
The skater glided ___ across the ice, with no jerky movements at all.
Choose one answer.
Fluidly is the adverb for smooth, flowing movement. Fluently is about language, fluffy is an adjective, and fluidity is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fluidly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.