Did you know?
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
quietly
- definition
What are red words?
90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.
Thesaurus
The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.
more
/ˈkwaɪətli/- 3in a way that is not obvious to other people
Sandra stood by, quietly amused.
Two embassy employees had been quietly recalled because of spying allegations.
quietly confident:I am quietly confident that we will win this match.
quietly optimistic:They are quietly optimistic about their chances of success.
This is the British English definition of quietly. View American English definition of quietly.
Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.
vocal fry
a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence
BuzzWord ArticleWord of the Day
glottal stop
a sound made by stopping air as it passes through your throat. In some varieties of spoken...
Open Dictionary
conflict mineral
a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons
add a wordMore submissions
view entriesBlog
A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.
global English and language change from our blog