archly

adverb

arch·​ly ˈärch-lē How to pronounce archly (audio)
1
: in an arch manner
2
: extremely
archly conservative

Examples of archly in a Sentence

an archly competitive young executive
Recent Examples on the Web That’s essentially what happened when a Northern California man died in early December — a demise that his brother archly and elegantly recounted in an obituary published in The Times. James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2023 The antebellum garb is an unmistakable Walker signature, but the scene is expressive and foreboding — not the archly comic and subversive work for which the artist is best known. Kriston Capps, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023 That archly strangled locution, the ceaseless scorn: the vendor’s voice nags at the former Dean Street boy. Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 27 Sep. 2023 Barthelme wrote, for Texas Monthly, in an archly mocking response to McMurtry’s later essay. Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023 Emma Stone’s monster turn Poor Things Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos are back with another archly funny period piece about a bunch of kooks. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2023 But there's plenty to savor in this first season, including archly broad comic-book baddies, dopily creepy lore, and classic(ally silly) CW illogic—all of it wrapped in the comforting conventions of a teen soap. Alexis Gunderson, Chron, 1 Mar. 2023 Their exchanges often, too, featured an archly nerdy scientific patois. BostonGlobe.com, 28 Jan. 2023 The idea of the decadent rich getting their kicks by brutalizing the indigenous people of a poor country and getting away with it might be archly satirical. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'archly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of archly was in 1662

Dictionary Entries Near archly

Cite this Entry

“Archly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archly. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!