-ly
American-
a suffix forming adverbs from adjectives: gladly; gradually; secondly.
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a suffix meaning “every,” attached to certain nouns denoting units of time: hourly; daily.
-
an adjective suffix meaning “-like”: saintly; cowardly.
suffix
-
having the nature or qualities of
brotherly
godly
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occurring at certain intervals; every
daily
yearly
suffix
abbreviation
Etymology
Origin of -ly
Middle English adverb -li, -lich(e), Old English -līce ( -līc adjective suffix + -e adverb suffix); Middle English adjective -li, -ly, -lich(e), Old English -līc (cognate with German -lich ), suffixal use of gelīc “similar to, like”; like 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elisha, or “Ly” as Maggie now called him, often asked her to address communications to him using false names, “Cousin Peter” or “F. Webster.”
From Literature
Near a migrant reception centre in Las Palmas, a major city in the Canary Islands, Ousmane Ly, a recently arrived 25-year-old Senegalese man, gazed at the beach.
From Barron's
Just over a week later, Cambodian authorities took into custody Ly Kuong, 49, a Cambodian casino and real-estate tycoon, and charged him with fraud, money laundering and exploitation of illegally recruited workers.
Neither Chen nor Ly Kuong could be reached for comment and the Chinese Embassy didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Cambodian officials have said the arrests of Chen and Ly Kuong are part of a continuing crackdown on the scam industry.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
