slowly

adverb

slow·ly | \ ˈslō-lē

Definition of slowly

: in a slow manner : not quickly, fast, early, rashly, or readily

Synonyms & Antonyms Slow vs. Slowly: Usage Guide Example Sentences Learn More about slowly

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Slow vs. Slowly: Usage Guide

Some commentators claim that careful writers avoid the adverb slow, in spite of the fact that it has had over four centuries of usage. have a continent forbearance till the speed of his rage goes slower — William Shakespeare In actual practice, slow and slowly are not used in quite the same way. Slow is almost always used with verbs that denote movement or action, and it regularly follows the verb it modifies. beans … are best cooked long and slow — Louise Prothro Slowly is used before the verb a sense of outrage, which slowly changed to shame — Paul Horgan and with participial adjectives. a slowly dawning awareness … of the problem — Amer. Labor Slowly is used after verbs where slow might also be used burn slow or slowly and after verbs where slow would be unidiomatic. the leadership turned slowly toward bombing as a means of striking back — David Halberstam

Examples of slowly in a Sentence

Things are slowly getting better. walked slowly toward the ringing phone

Recent Examples on the Web

Google rebranded Android Wear as Wear OS last year, and has slowly been adding features such as dark mode and deeper Assistant integration. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Google's Wear OS gets glancy with swipeable Tiles for news, weather, timers, and more," 1 May 2019 Broadcast television is slowly, finally getting more inclusive on-screen, but the numbers are frustratingly low behind-the-scenes. — Ella Cerón, Teen Vogue, "The 2018 Emmys Had a Diversity Problem Because Hollywood Still Isn't Inclusive," 18 Sep. 2018 My grandmother was slowly, methodically sipping her tea. — Keith Gessen, Longreads, "My Brother Comes to Moscow," 10 July 2018 As the death toll mounts, efforts to change these policies are gaining momentum — but slowly. — Felice J. Freyer, BostonGlobe.com, "Addicted people often end up in jail. That can be deadly for them," 9 July 2018 But that has slowly been changing; the village has allowed CVS and Walgreens drug stores to sell alcoholic beverages in recent years. — Janelle Walker, Elgin Courier-News, "Ban may be lifted on gas stations selling beer and wine in South Elgin," 6 July 2018 The Corps, which has slowly been overhauling the dike's weak spots, on Thursday announced the decision to spend another $514 million to finish the job. — Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, "$500 million pledged to fix Lake O's aging dike. The algae crisis is another matter," 6 July 2018 But both still followed the evolutionary trend of generally decreasing tooth size: The size of our jaw and teeth have slowly been shrinking over millions of years. — Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, "How Ancient Teeth Reveal The Roots of Humankind," 2 July 2018 Day by day, the country was slowly, persistently changing. — Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic, "How Do You Measure a Country?," 1 July 2018

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