Meaning & use
gamely
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Meaning
adverbnot comparable
In a brave, cheerful way, showing willingness to keep trying even when things are hard.
Grammar: Usually placed before or after the verb it describes: she gamely tried, she tried gamely.
Patterns
- gamely try to do something
- gamely carry on
Though soaked and exhausted, the runners gamely carried on to the finish.
He gamely tried to sing along, despite not knowing a single word.
The little team fought gamely but lost by twenty points.
Common combinations
- gamely try
- She gamely tried the very spicy dish.
- gamely carry on
- The band gamely carried on after the power cut.
- gamely struggle
- He gamely struggled up the last steep hill.
- gamely smile
- The host gamely smiled through the disastrous dinner.
- gamely attempt
- The students gamely attempted the hardest question.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bravely
- Bravely stresses courage in the face of danger, while gamely stresses good-humored willingness in a less serious setting.
- pluckily
- Pluckily is close in feeling but is rarer and often suggests a smaller person facing a bigger challenge.
- cheerfully
- Cheerfully only describes mood, whereas gamely also implies effort despite difficulty.
- willingly
- Willingly means without objection, but gamely adds the idea of a hard task.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: gamely or gamey?
gamely vs gamey
Gamey describes the strong taste of wild meat and has nothing to do with bravery.
Practice
Despite the heavy rain, the volunteers ____ kept handing out food.
Choose one answer.
Gamely fits because it shows cheerful determination in bad conditions. Reluctantly would mean they did not want to, and angrily and slowly do not describe courageous cheerfulness.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gamely”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.