5 Helpful Lists of -ly Adverbs
Use the lists of -ly adverbs below to help describe actions and excite readers!
Adverbs are the part of speech that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. -ly adverbs are words that end in the suffix -ly; using them makes sentences more specific and descriptive without adding extra words that makes reader scanning more difficult. Readers like to get the basic ideas easily and quickly, so keeping topics concise is critical. These adverbs also make sentences seem more refined and fancy.
Note: Not all words that end in -ly are adverbs, so check which function the word performs (adjectives only ever modify nouns and pronouns) before using them. This includes adjectives such as: friendly, cowardly, motherly, comely, kindly, and chilly.
The 5 lists of -ly adverbs are for adverbs of:
- ‘when’ or time
- ‘where’ or space
- ‘how much/many’ or Quantity
- ‘which one’ or identifying
- ‘How’ or ‘in what way’
Helpful Lists of -ly Adverbs
1. -Ly adverbs for ‘when’ or time
Recent
- Formerly
- Imminently
- Impendingly
- Lately
- Loomingly
- Modernly
- Novelly
- Quickly
- Suddenly
- Recently
- Ripely
Specific time/now
- Annually
- Currently
- Daily
- Instantly
- Momentarily
- Nightly
- Periodically
- Presently
- Promptly
- Simultaneously
Far off/old
- Anciently
- Antiquely
- Eventually
- Finally
- Futuristically
- Lastingly
- Medievally
- Old-fashionedly
- Outdated
- Quaintly
- Vintagely
Check out more adverbs of time here!
2. -Ly adverbs for ‘where’ or space
Near
- Boarderingly
- Closely
- Feckly
- Nearly
- Practically
- Virtually
Far
- Considerably
- Detachedly
- Distantly
- Faintly
- Notably
- Remotely
- Reservingly
Urban
- Brightly
- Bustlingly
- Corruptly
- Compactly
- Crowdedly
- Excitingly
- Metropolitanly
- Stuffily
Rural
- Fertilely
- Freshly
- Friendly
- Naturally
- Openly
- Quietly
- Peacefully
- Serenely
3. -Ly adverbs for ‘how much/many’ or Quantity
Few/little
- Diminutively
- Emptily
- Insufficiently
- Meagerly
- Merely
- Microscopically
- Petitely
- Smally
- Sparsely
- Starkly
Many/lots
- Astronomically
- Bounteously
- Colossally
- Enormously
- Extensively
- Fully
- Greatly
- Massively
- Numerously
- Richly
- Titanically
Unknown number or amount
- Boundlessly
- Countlessly
- Endlessly
- Infinitely
- Innumerably
- Limitlessly
4. -Ly adverbs for which one
Visual
- Artfully
- Baldly
- Beautifully
- Brightly
- Cutely
- Drably
- Flamboyantly
- Limply
- Palely
- Plainly
- Ornately
- Poisedly
- Sensationally
- Splendidly
- Sluggishly
- Transparently
- Vibrantly
- Vividly
- Warily
- Witheringly
Auditory
- Blaringly
- Deafeningly
- Inaudibly
- Loudly
- Lullingly
- Mutedly
- Quietly
- Silently
- Shrilly
- Subduedly
- Thunderously
- Voicelessly
Feel
- Abrasively
- Aridly
- Creepily
- Damply
- Dirtily
- Firmly
- Roughly
- Roundly
- Sharply
- Softly
- Tautly
- Weirdly
- Windingly
Taste
- Saltily
- Deliciously
- Distastefully
- Hungrily
Smell
- Awfully
- Detestably
- Earthily
- Flowerly
- Fouly
- Freshly
- Repulsively
- Revoltingly
5. -Ly adverbs for ‘How’ or ‘in what way’
Quality
- Aptly
- Competently
- Constantly
- Correctly
- Efficiently
- Gently
- Leniently
- Mildly
- Negatively
- Outstandingly
- Poorly
- Pricelessly
- Securely
- Slowly
- Studiously
- Superbly
- Swiftly
- Weakly
- Wonderfully
- Zealously
Emotion
- Adversely
- Aggressively
- Amiably
- Bitterly
- Calmly
- Cleverly
- Curtly
- Cynically
- Darkly
- Dramatically
- Flippantly
- Happily
- Harshly
- Hilariously
- Gallantly
- Maliciously
- Modestly
- Peevishly
- Shrewdly
- Slyly
- Tensely
- Rudely
- Unreliably
- Vengefully
- Wickedly
Summary
Adverbs are the part of speech that modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. -ly adverbs are words that end in the suffix -ly; using them makes sentences more specific and descriptive without adding extra words that makes reader scanning more difficult.
The list of -ly adverbs are for adverbs of:
- ‘when’ or time
- ‘where’ or space
- ‘how much/many’ or Quantity
- ‘which one’ or identifying
- ‘How’ or ‘in what way’
