Meaning & use
quietly
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
Making little or no sound; in a soft voice or with gentle movements.
Grammar: Usually follows the verb: she spoke quietly, though it can also come first for emphasis.
Patterns
- speak quietly
- close the door quietly
She closed the door quietly so the baby would not wake.
The students worked quietly while the teacher marked papers.
He quietly slipped into the back row after the film had started.
adverbnot comparable
In a calm, modest way that avoids attention or fuss.
Grammar: Often sits before a verb or adjective: quietly confident, quietly resigned.
Patterns
- quietly confident
- quietly get on with something
He quietly paid the whole bill and never mentioned it.
The team quietly went about its work, away from the press.
She was quietly proud of her daughter's progress.
adverbnot comparable
Without much open display of emotion; peacefully.
Grammar: Often follows verbs such as wait, sit or accept: they sat quietly.
Patterns
- wait quietly
- accept something quietly
The old man sat quietly by the window, watching the rain.
The villagers quietly accepted the new rules.
She quietly waited for her turn without complaint.
Word forms
| comparative | more quietly |
|---|---|
| superlative | most quietly |
Common combinations
- speak quietly
- Please speak quietly in the library.
- quietly confident
- The coach was quietly confident before the final.
- quietly slip away
- They quietly slipped away before the speeches began.
- work quietly
- The engineers work quietly in the back room.
- quietly optimistic
- Officials are quietly optimistic about the talks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- softly
- Softly describes a gentle sound or touch, while quietly can also mean modestly or without attention.
- silently
- Silently means with no sound at all, whereas quietly allows for a little noise.
- discreetly
- Discreetly stresses tact and avoiding embarrassment, while quietly is a simpler, more general word.
- calmly
- Calmly focuses on a steady mood, and does not say anything about loudness as quietly does.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: quietly or quite?
quietly vs quite
Quite means fairly or completely, while quiet means with little noise; they differ by one letter and are often mistyped.
Practice
The thief ___ opened the window and climbed in, hoping not to wake the family.
Choose one answer.
Quietly fits because the thief wants to avoid noise. Loudly is the opposite, and quite is a different word meaning fairly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “quietly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.