Meaning & use
loudly
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Meanings
adverbcomparable
With a lot of sound or volume.
Grammar: Goes after the verb: speak loudly, laugh loudly.
Patterns
- speak loudly
- laugh loudly
- knock loudly
The baby cried loudly in the quiet restaurant.
Please don't talk so loudly in the library.
He knocked loudly on the door until someone answered.
adverbcomparablefigurative
In a forceful, open way that makes clear what you feel or think.
Grammar: Often used with verbs such as protest or complain: protest loudly.
Patterns
- complain loudly
- protest loudly
Residents complained loudly about the new parking rules.
She loudly insisted that she was right.
Fans loudly cheered the home team.
adverbcomparableinformal
In a showy or too bright way, especially of clothes or colors.
Grammar: Used before an adjective or participle: loudly dressed.
Patterns
- loudly dressed
- loudly colored
The tourists were loudly dressed in orange shirts.
The room was loudly decorated with red and yellow stripes.
He wore a loudly patterned tie.
Word forms
| comparative | more loudly |
|---|---|
| superlative | most loudly |
Common combinations
- speak loudly
- He had to speak loudly over the music.
- laugh loudly
- They laughed loudly at the joke.
- cheer loudly
- The crowd cheered loudly.
- complain loudly
- She complained loudly about the service.
- snore loudly
- My brother snores loudly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- noisily
- Noisily stresses an unpleasant or messy sound, while loudly just describes high volume.
- aloud
- Aloud means in a voice others can hear, not necessarily at high volume, unlike loudly.
- boisterously
- Boisterously describes rowdy, high-spirited behavior, which is more specific than loudly.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: loudly or aloud? loudly or loud?
loudly vs aloud
Aloud means in a voice that can be heard, such as reading aloud, and does not mean very noisy.
loudly vs loud
Loud is an adjective; loudly is the adverb used with verbs.
Practice
The audience clapped ___ when the singer finished.
Choose one answer.
Loudly is the adverb that modifies the verb clapped. Loud is an adjective, and aloud means audibly, not at high volume.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loudly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.