lightly
adverb
\
Definition of lightly
: in a light manner: such as
a : with little weight or force : gently
b : with indifference or carelessness : unconcernedly the problem should not be passed over lightly— Shelly Halpern
c : with little difficulty : easily
d : gaily, cheerfully
e : in an agile manner : nimbly, swiftly the cat leapt lightly onto the table
f : in a small degree or amount lightly salted food
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms & Antonyms for lightly
Synonyms
easily, easy, effortlessly, facilely, fluently, freely, handily, hands down, painlessly, readily, smoothly, well
Antonyms
arduously, hardly, laboriously, strenuously
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of lightly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And the complexities of his suicide, and the illness that drove it, are only lightly touched upon. — Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, "HBO documentary a sad but satisfying visit with Robin Williams," 11 July 2018 Slowly descend your butt toward the bench, touch lightly and stand up to start position, pushing through your heels and breathing out. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Stepping up your training can boost your heart, lower-body muscles," 11 July 2018 Slowly, his bedroom door creaked open, like a hand was lightly touching it. — Ilana Strauss, The Cut, "What Is Sleep Paralysis, and How Do You Stop It?," 12 Apr. 2018 The first order of business should be to do them no harm and ensure that new buildings are compatible and the bypass touches the ground lightly. — Blair Kamin, chicagotribune.com, "Around Wrigley Field, a high-stakes urban design drama plays out as buildings fall and rise," 6 Apr. 2018 Place wedges on the grate, being sure to shake off excess liquid, close the lid, and grill until lightly golden brown and just cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes, turning often. — Polly Campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Big Green Eggs: A cult or a cooking method?," 6 July 2018 Pompeo’s two-day meeting in North Korea also shouldn’t be taken lightly, especially since Kim is allegedly hiding nuclear facilities. — Madeleine Ngo, Vox, "Trump gifted Kim Jong Un an Elton John CD with the song “Rocket Man”," 6 July 2018 Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. — Hannah Walhout, Smithsonian, "Forget Baguettes — Why In-the-Know Bread Lovers Should be Heading to the Caucasus (Recipe)," 5 July 2018 This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. — NBC News, "Jared Leto on movies, tech and almost everything else," 11 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lightly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for lightly
lightly
adverb
English Language Learners Definition of lightly
: with little weight or force
: without care or concern : in a way that is not serious
: in a quick and graceful way
See the full definition for lightly in the English Language Learners Dictionary
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on lightly
What made you want to look up lightly? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
-
- Which of the following Q-without-U words means the number five in cards or dice?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
Words to improve your Scrabble game
Take the quiz -
Which Came First? Quiz
Do you know which word is older?
Take the quiz -
True or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz -
Bee Cubed
Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.
Play the game
Share lightly
Resources for lightly