cleanlier; cleanliest
1
: careful to keep clean : fastidious
2
: habitually kept clean
Examples of cleanly in a Sentence
Adverb
A sharp knife will cut through the skin of a tomato cleanly.
This fuel burns more cleanly than other fuels.
Recent Examples on the Web
Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 Feb. 2026
Notably, opinions on the IEEPA case aren’t cleanly split on partisan lines.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
Thomas Drance, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Whoever wins cleanly leaves with both the championship belts.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleanly
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Adverb
The aircraft transitioned cleanly between modes, a step developers see as critical for scaling eVTOLs beyond short hops.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 Feb. 2026
Notably, opinions on the IEEPA case aren’t cleanly split on partisan lines.
—Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
In other words, historical comparables suggest that Sherwood’s trade value probably isn’t cleanly at the level of him returning a first-round pick to Vancouver if he’s ultimately traded between now and March 6.
—Thomas Drance, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2026
Whoever wins cleanly leaves with both the championship belts.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cleanly
Cite this Entry
“Cleanly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanly. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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