: in a slow manner : not quickly, fast, early, rashly, or readily
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
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
Louise Prothro
Slowly is used before the verb
a sense of outrage, which slowly changed to shame
—Paul Horgan
Paul Horgan
and with participial adjectives.
a slowly dawning awareness … of the problem
—Amer. Labor
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
David Halberstam
Examples of slowly in a Sentence
Things are slowly getting better.
walked slowly toward the ringing phone
Recent Examples on the Web
That slower flow of air means that there’s more time for slowly-absorbing chemicals to dissolve into the mucus lining.
—Sarah Philip, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025
The driver of a white pickup truck apparently didn’t realize how slowly the group’s escort car was moving and crashed into it.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Dec. 2025
Other defects may have built up slowly during months in orbit, where EURECA was exposed to strong radiation, large temperature swings between sunlight and shadow, and tiny impacts from micrometeoroids and debris.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
In storytelling, the roads to pure evil or to victimhood are frequently clear-cut, but the journey of a person who is slowly recruited into complicity is a subtler thing.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slowly
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Sarah Philip, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025
The driver of a white pickup truck apparently didn’t realize how slowly the group’s escort car was moving and crashed into it.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Dec. 2025
Other defects may have built up slowly during months in orbit, where EURECA was exposed to strong radiation, large temperature swings between sunlight and shadow, and tiny impacts from micrometeoroids and debris.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
In storytelling, the roads to pure evil or to victimhood are frequently clear-cut, but the journey of a person who is slowly recruited into complicity is a subtler thing.
—The Atlantic, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slowly
Cite this Entry
“Slowly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slowly. Accessed 7 Dec. 2025.
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