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lightly

adverb

Form of light , adverb of light.

Simple meaning

Without good reason.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

lytlee

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈlaɪtli

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adverb

  1. In a light manner.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

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More ways to use lightly

  • “She kissed him lightly on the forehead.”adverb
  • “We eat lightly in the morning.”adverb
  • “One cannot say such things lightly.”adverb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

lightly touchedlightly armedlightly beaten

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • lightnounBase word

    Electromagnetic radiation that can produce a visual sensation.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • lighternounPerson or profession · specialist

    A substance used to ignite or kindle a fire.

  • lightnessnounDerived noun

    A feeling of joy and pride.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.