softly

adverbcommon in dialogue

United Kingdom//ˈsɒftli//
United States//ˈsɔftli//
//ˈsɑftli//

In a soft manner; gently.

adverb

1
In a soft manner; gently.
The masseuse was rubbing my back too softly for my liking, so I asked her to go harder.
He had married a lady well educated and softly nurtured, but not dowered with worldly wealth. […] They would give up ideas of gentle living, of soft raiment, and delicate feeding.
2
Not loudly; nearly inaudibly.
whisper softly in someone's ear
play music softly
3
With subdued color; faded or misty with distance.
And they sat very still, the two of them, and looked out over that great, beautiful desert—away to the home mesa that they could see, softly blue, in the distance.

Etymology

From Middle English softely, softeliche, equivalent to soft + -ly.

Forms

comparative: softlier, more softly
superlative: softliest, most softly

soft · Easily giving way under pressure.softball · A game similar to baseball but played with a larger and…soften · To make something soft or softer.

softly · In a soft manner; gently.

software · Encoded computer instructions, usually modifiable (unless…soggy · Soaked with moisture or other liquid.soho · ho; halloo; a word used in calling from a distant place.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.