smartly

adverb

smart·​ly

: in a smart manner : so as to be or seem smart: such as

a

: vigorously, sharply

paced smartly up and down

—Thomas Hardy

scratched his bare legs smartly

—Willa Cather

was spotted and smartly attacked by two English brigs

—Parry Miller

b

: curtly

was returned with the offending lines smartly pencilled out

—Mollie Panter-Downes

: severely

reprimanded him smartly

c

: to a notable degree : considerably

smartly improved buying

—D. C. Morrill

temperature rose smartly

d

: neatly, trimly, precisely

beds smartly turned down

—C. W. Morton

had executed all commands smartly and briskly

with a plastic disk smartly balanced on his snout

—R. N. Hill

drilled and handled their weapons smartly

e

: cleverly, efficiently, capably

skillfully drawn and smartly administered city plans

—Hal Burton

Department of Agriculture was smartly on the job

—Sydney (Australia) Bulletin

a smartly directed play

f

: pertly, wittily

smartly said

smartly turned phrases

put it so smartly that it seemed to mean more than it did

g

: fashionably, stylishly

always dressed smartly

smartly tailored black and white linen

—Virginia Pope

smartly furnished

Word History

Etymology

Middle English smertly, from smert smart + -ly

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

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Rhymes for smartly

• partly
• tartly