adverb

noun

ad·verb | \ ˈad-ˌvərb

Definition of adverb

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of numerous languages, typically serving as a modifier of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a preposition, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence, expressing some relation of manner or quality, place, time, degree, number, cause, opposition, affirmation, or denial, and in English also serving to connect and to express comment on clause content In "arrived early" the word "early" is an adverb. — compare adjunct, conjunct, disjunct

adverb

adjective

Definition of adverb (Entry 2 of 2)

: adverbial the adverb suffix "-ly"

What is an adverb? More Example Sentences Learn More about adverb

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What is an adverb?

Noun

Adverbs are words that usually modify—that is, they limit or restrict the meaning of—verbs. They may also modify adjectives, other adverbs, phrases, or even entire sentences.

An adverb answers the question when?, where?, how?, how much?, how long?, or how often?:

The elections are coming soon.

They only shopped locally.

They are happily married.

The roads are very steep.

He stopped by briefly to say hello.

My daughter calls me regularly.

Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. If the adjective already ends in -y, the -y usually changes to -i.

bold / boldly
solid / solidly
interesting / interestingly
heavy / heavily
unnecessary / unnecessarily

There are, however, many common adverbs that do not end in -ly, such as again, also, just, never, often, soon, today, too, very, and well.

There are a few different kinds of adverbs. The words when, where, why, and how are called interrogative adverbs when they begin a question.

When did the event occur?

Where is the proof?

Why was he so late?

How did they get here?

The relative adverbs—where, when, and why (how is sometimes included as well)—introduce subordinate clauses (also called dependent clauses), which are clauses that do not form simple sentences by themselves.

This is the house where I grew up.

They go to bed when they want to.

She wondered why the door was open.

When an adverb modifies a whole sentence or clause, it is called a sentence adverb. Words such as fortunately, frankly, hopefully, and luckily are generally used as sentence adverbs and usually express the speaker's feelings about the content of the sentence. Such adverbs normally come at the beginning of a sentence, but may also come in the middle or at the end.

Unfortunately, Friday will be cloudy.

Friday, unfortunately, will be cloudy.

Friday will be cloudy, unfortunately.

Examples of adverb in a Sentence

Noun

In “arrived early,” “runs slowly,” “stayed home,” and “works hard” the words “early,” “slowly,” “home,” and “hard” are adverbs.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The next morning, Archie makes quick work of moving hay bales shirtlessly (Is that an adverb? — Jessica Macleish, Teen Vogue, ""Riverdale" Recap Season 3 Episode 7: Why Has No One Noticed Betty Is Missing?," 6 Dec. 2018 There are no pauses, few adverbs, and, most notably, few interjections by Faye. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "The Empty Space of Rachel Cusk," 15 June 2018 Leonard’s ear for dialogue and laconic style, along with a droll sense of humor and just enough field research, combined to make his crime novels endlessly entertaining (apologies for the adverb). — Erik Spanberg, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Elmore Leonard: Westerns' celebrates Leonard's mastery of the genre," 5 June 2018 But as that adverb suggests, these are the exceptions. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Rigging’ Primaries Is Fine. Backing Bad Candidates Isn’t.," 27 Apr. 2018 Fraudulent stories tend to differ in subtle ways, including their heavy use of adverbs and adjectives as well as slang, simple sentence structures, and relatively few commas and quotations. — David Cox /, NBC News, "Fake news is still a problem. Is AI the solution?," 15 Feb. 2018 With all those adverbs, expressing the mess can also be a mouthful. — Christian Lorentzen, New Republic, "Talk Therapy," 9 Feb. 2018 But Turtle Bay still offers Midtown convenience at a relatively affordable price (heavy stress on the adverb). — Julie Lasky, New York Times, "Turtle Bay, Manhattan: The Convenience of Midtown, at a Relatively Affordable Price," 10 Jan. 2018 In this interactive show, children pick verbs, adverbs and similes from a hat for dancers to act them out to music. 2-3 p.m. at 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Davie. — South Florida Parenting, "Best family events: Lego exhibit, seafood fest and Pokémon," 26 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adverb.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for adverb

Noun

Middle English adverbe, borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Latin adverbium (translation of Greek epírrhēma), from ad- ad- + verbum "word, utterance, verb" + -ium, suffix in compounds — more at word entry 1

Adjective

attributive use of adverb entry 1

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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster

Dictionary Entries near adverb

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Last Updated

11 Dec 2018

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Time Traveler for adverb

The first known use of adverb was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for adverb

adverb

noun

English Language Learners Definition of adverb

: a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree

See the full definition for adverb in the English Language Learners Dictionary

adverb

noun

ad·verb | \ ˈad-ˌvərb

Kids Definition of adverb

: a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and often used to show degree, manner, place, or time The words “almost” and “very” in “at almost three o'clock on a very hot day” are adverbs.