Meaning & use
youthfully
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Meanings
adverbcomparable
In a way that seems young, lively or fresh, especially when the person is no longer very young.
Grammar: Modifies a verb or adjective: she dresses youthfully; youthfully energetic.
Patterns
- act youthfully
- dress youthfully
- youthfully energetic
Grandpa dresses youthfully in bright sneakers and a denim jacket.
She laughed youthfully, like someone half her age.
The coach moved youthfully across the field despite being sixty.
adverbcomparableliterary
In a manner typical of the early stage of life, often with inexperience or enthusiasm.
Grammar: Describes an action done with the energy or naivety of youth.
Patterns
- youthfully eager
- youthfully naive
He youthfully believed that hard work alone guaranteed success.
The students argued youthfully and with great confidence.
Word forms
| comparative | more youthfully |
|---|---|
| superlative | most youthfully |
Common combinations
- youthfully energetic
- The youthfully energetic teacher inspired the class.
- dress youthfully
- He tries to dress youthfully for his age.
- smile youthfully
- She smiled youthfully at the old photographs.
- youthfully optimistic
- The team was youthfully optimistic before the final.
- look youthfully
- The pair looked youthfully radiant at the wedding.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boyishly
- Boyishly refers only to males and suggests playful charm, while youthfully applies to anyone and suggests general freshness.
- vigorously
- Vigorously stresses strong physical effort, whereas youthfully stresses a young quality in manner.
- childishly
- Childishly is usually negative and suggests immaturity, whereas youthfully is mostly positive.
- sprightly
- Sprightly is an adjective for lively movement in older people, while youthfully is an adverb for any lively manner.
Opposites
Word family
- youth noun
- the period or quality of being young
- youthful adjective
- young or seeming young
- youthfulness noun
- the quality of seeming young
- young adjective
- not long alive or old
Commonly confused: youthfully or youthful?
youthfully vs youthful
Youthful is the adjective that describes a noun, while youthfully is the adverb that describes an action.
Practice
She is seventy, but she skis ___ and never seems to tire.
Choose one answer.
An adverb is needed to describe how she skis, so youthfully fits. Youthful is an adjective and cannot modify the verb skis.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “youthfully”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.