Meaning & use
gracefully
Last updated
Meanings
adverb
In a smooth, elegant, controlled way that shows physical poise.
Grammar: Modifies verbs of movement: she moved gracefully.
Patterns
- move gracefully
- dance gracefully
- walk gracefully
She moved gracefully across the stage, as if she had no bones.
The cat jumped gracefully onto the fence and balanced there.
He caught the ball and threw it back gracefully.
adverb
In a calm, polite, and composed way, especially when dealing with a difficult situation.
Grammar: Modifies verbs of behavior or response: accept gracefully.
Patterns
- accept something gracefully
- lose gracefully
- handle something gracefully
She accepted the criticism gracefully and thanked them for their feedback.
He lost the election but stepped down gracefully.
Even when they insulted him, he responded gracefully.
Common combinations
- move gracefully
- The dancer moved gracefully across the floor.
- age gracefully
- She believes in aging gracefully and never worries about wrinkles.
- bow gracefully
- The actor bowed gracefully to the applauding audience.
- decline gracefully
- He declined the invitation gracefully, saying he had other plans.
Synonyms and how they differ
- elegantly
- Focuses more on stylish appearance or manner; gracefully often suggests smooth movement or poise under pressure.
- smoothly
- Emphasizes lack of jerks or problems; gracefully adds a sense of beauty or social tact.
- poisedly
- Means with calm confidence; gracefully can also refer to physical movement, not just manner.
Opposites
Word family
- graceful adjective
- Showing grace; smooth and elegant.
- grace noun
- Smoothness and elegance of movement or manner.
- gracefulness noun
- The quality of being graceful.
Commonly confused: gracefully or gracefully?
gracefully vs gracefully
This is the adverb; the adjective is graceful.
Practice
She handled the difficult question ______, without getting angry.
Choose one answer.
The adverb 'gracefully' modifies the verb 'handled'. 'Graceful' is an adjective, 'grace' is a noun, and 'gracefulness' is a noun, so they don't fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gracefully”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.