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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Some are even cheerfully embracing a world where human labor is no longer central to the economy.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
30 May 2026
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Some are even cheerfully embracing a world where human labor is no longer central to the economy.—
Nathan Schneider,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
Adverb
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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.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 May 2026
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What used to feel lively now often feels congested and harder to enjoy.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Adverb
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Deciding on a solution to the long-running turtle tizzy at I-95’s Exit 42, where 100-foot-tall light towers burn so brightly experts say the glow disrupts sea turtle nesting on beaches 12 miles away, has state and local government officials at loggerheads.—
Adam Van Brimmer,
AJC.com,
8 June 2026
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For many, the preservation of this traditional craft is a way to heal historical wounds and look brightly to the future.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
Adverb
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Regardless of the extent of Rose’s presence, fans are hoping for her and Peter to get a happy ending the way George Clooney’s ER return for Julianna Margulies’ final episode gave their characters Doug and Carol a happily ever after.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
12 June 2026
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One thing that has shifted since Sendak’s heyday, however, is our baseline of assumptions about how much kids are reading, or how well or how happily, or to what extent the culture that surrounds them is fundamentally hostile to reading.—
Jessica Winter,
New Yorker,
12 June 2026
Adverb
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But Tilly and Gershon playfully bickered onstage as the former remembered things slightly differently, with Tilly saying the problem had more to do with a shot of her hand on Gershon's crotch that was deemed too realistic.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
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Ahead of her Chicago tribute performance, the mom-of-two—who shares daughter Willow, 15, and son Jameson, 9, with Hart—was photographed playfully pointing at the cameras and sharing a laugh with her family.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
7 June 2026
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.—
Jayson Greene,
Pitchfork,
2 June 2026
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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.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 May 2026
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.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
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.—
Marcus K. Dowling,
The Tennessean,
2 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gaily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gaily. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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