variants
also gayly
1
as in cheerfully
in a cheerful or happy manner
we sat around the table, gaily teasing each other and laughing about the good old days
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lively
in a quick and spirited manner
children gaily running to the buses on the last day of school
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brightly
in a manner that is colorful and tends to arouse gaiety
the Mexican dancers were gaily dressed in lavish, bright costumes
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gaily
The butterflies enter first, quivering gaily atop their sticks.
—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2023
Keep us gaily making pins!
—
Kim Phillips-Fein,
The New Republic,
27 Feb. 2023
With the Meyerson gaily festooned for the holiday season, there were lighting effects and some projections.
—
Dallas News,
26 Nov. 2022
To make the gamma ray bells ring out gaily, the player lifts the little lead casings that cover the materials—and can do so in a rhythmic fashion to make a strange kind of song.
—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
24 July 2018
See All Example Sentences for gaily
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2023
Keep us gaily making pins!
—
Kim Phillips-Fein,
The New Republic,
27 Feb. 2023
With the Meyerson gaily festooned for the holiday season, there were lighting effects and some projections.
—
Dallas News,
26 Nov. 2022
To make the gamma ray bells ring out gaily, the player lifts the little lead casings that cover the materials—and can do so in a rhythmic fashion to make a strange kind of song.
—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
24 July 2018
See All Example Sentences for gaily
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gaily
Adverb
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Golden retrievers remained cheerfully oblivious as usual.
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Among other curiosities were Matthew Howard and Joseph Pereira cheerfully pulverizing Philip Glass’ Fantasy Concerto for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, as well as Boris Allakhverdyan suavely ghosting jazz legend Artie Shaw in his Clarinet Concerto.
Adverb
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One day, a young Jonah — lively as ever — jumped knee-first onto his father’s lap, in the wheelchair.
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The boat holds a cluster of restaurants that draw a steady stream of Cairo locals, which keeps the dining scene feeling lively well into the evening.
Adverb
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Squeezits No '90s lunch box felt complete without a brightly colored bottle of Squeezits.
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Over 150 brightly colored, lovingly detailed cars cruised down Capitol Mall on Sunday for the fourth annual Lowrider Holiday Celebration.
Adverb
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If not for the enormous backlash—which included a conference lawsuit and threats of a boycott by other schools—the Red Raiders would have happily held their noses and competed for the national championship that eluded them last year.
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Best of all, the villain gets to live happily ever after.
Adverb
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Heck, even 78-year-old coach Dick Advocaat, the oldest man ever to coach a World Cup game, on Friday playfully suggested Curaçao’s best path to victory would be if Ecuador was down four players.
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While headlining Spain's O Son do Camiño music festival in Santiago de Compostela on Thursday, June 18, the 41-year-old pop star showed some love for her boyfriend, Justin Trudeau, while playfully dissing a few of her exes.
Adverb
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Mabe Fratti and Bill Orcutt’s collaboration didn’t begin colorfully or dramatically; Fratti just liked Orcutt and said so publicly, prompting Orcutt to reach out, which resulted in their working—remotely, mostly—on a series of pieces.
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Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Poltz was colorfully introduced by his longtime musician friend, former San Diego Padres second baseman and third base coach Tim Flannery.
Adverb
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Still, while these surfaces are clearly meant to reflect deeper emotional and cultural truths, Coppola’s mining of them is done glancingly, airily.
Adverb
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The song's interplay between choir and orchestra is buoyantly euphoric, opening a door to bolder, more intentionally progressive and soulful sounds in the country's mainstream.
Cite this Entry
“Gaily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaily. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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