slowly

adverb

slow·​ly ˈslō-lē 

: 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

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

Synonyms of slowly

• cautiously
• slow
• sluggishly
• carefully

Examples of slowly in a Sentence

Things are slowly getting better.

walked slowly toward the ringing phone

Recent Examples on the Web

And Ben Ahlers, who plays the adult Happy, comes with that actor’s famously warm smile and chirpy demeanor, slowly worn down here before your eyes, as the permissible frolics of youth turn into the stasis of one going nowhere. —Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 10 Apr. 2026

The Legislature, designed to be a deliberative body, moves slowly by nature, and has through the end of August to send bills to Newsom for his signature or veto. —Sacbee.com, 9 Apr. 2026

Take a room full of particles, for instance, where half of the particles are cold (low in kinetic energy, moving slowly, with a long timescale in between collisions) and half of the particles are hot (high in kinetic energy, moving rapidly, with short timescales separating successive collisions). —Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026

Breakfast in the main dining room, followed by time lingering over coffee while the room slowly fills. —Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing slowly

• slowly but surely

Rhymes for slowly

• coaly
• coli
• foley
• folie
• goalie
• holy
• lowly
• moly
• tolly
• wholly
• acholi
• emboli