archly

adverb

arch·​ly ˈärch-lē 

1

: in an arch manner

2

: extremely

archly conservative

Synonyms of archly

• extremely
• terribly
• very
• highly
• incredibly
• too
• damned
• so
• badly
• damn
• desperately
• intensely
• severely
• wildly
• seriously
• really
• fiercely
• heavily
• jolly
• far
• greatly
• much

Examples of archly in a Sentence

an archly competitive young executive

Recent Examples on the Web

That virtue is undermined here by leads with minimal chemistry, one of them inexpressive and the other archly theatrical, by design if not to rewarding effect. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2026

The show, which followed a crooked New Mexican lawyer, played by Bob Odenkirk, was an archly funny drama, shot partly in gritty black-and-white. —Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025

Much as Wes Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos have plumbed Dafoe’s deliciously wicked sense of humor in pieces that straddle the line between the real and the archly stylized, Solnicki understands that a strong Dafoe performance must always teeter between the two. —Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 28 Sep. 2025

Emily Gilmore, Gilmore Girls’ archly funny matriarch. —Maggie McGrath, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1712, in the meaning defined at sense 1