: in an able and skillful manner : with ability, skill, or proficiency
was ably assisted
This silly comic Christmas romp is ably performed by a cast of 22 actors, led by the high-spirited Danny McBride as the childlike Buddy.Matthew Yde
Last year, she ably completed a half-marathon run with only minimal training.Zachary Lewis

Examples of ably in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In an interview on Thursday, Serna acknowledged that the special prosecutor had ably handled the Gutierrez Reed trial. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 Shatz discusses all this ably, but the book’s real triumph is to link Fanon’s life to the development of his ideas. Adam Shatz, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 He is ably supported by veteran actors Dimple Kapadia, Dharmendra, and Rakesh Singh Bedi. Sweta Kaushal, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 After struggling to pick up a few blitzes early, the Ravens’ offensive line protected Jackson ably against Houston, with left tackle Ronnie Stanley playing perhaps his best game of the season. Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 24 Jan. 2024 Naturally, with Dudley's help, the bishop eventually rediscovers the true meaning of Christmas, a message that The Bishop's Wife ably passes along to its holiday audience. Gwen Ihnat, EW.com, 16 Nov. 2023 Then, nearly a decade later, Miles stepped in, ably, to reboot him. Avery Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2024 Roku's flagship streaming stick product makes the jump into the UHD era with an easy-to-use dongle that ably delivers 4K content from a panoply of services. K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 31 Jan. 2024 This was the first time the play was produced in San Diego since the Old Globe production in 2011 and — with a fraction of the budget of the Globe — Backyard ably pulled it off. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ably.' 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

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ably was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ably

Cite this Entry

“Ably.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ably. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ably

adverb
ˈā-blē
: in an able manner

More from Merriam-Webster on ably

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