inanimately

adverb

as in sluggishly

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanimately
  1. sluggishly
  2. lazily
  3. dully
  4. tardily
  5. idly
  6. halfheartedly
Adverb
  • San Antonio's offense started sluggishly in two previous home games, but rolled to season highs for points in any quarter and half with 39 points in the first period and 80 by halftime.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Current leaks through transistors that should be switched off, and electrons move more sluggishly through channels only a few atoms thick.
    — Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of sluggishly
Adverb
  • The stranger approached the store owner, a stout man waving a rattan fan lazily at his face while sitting at the till.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Demis Hassabis has made the same point more bluntly, cautioning that using AI lazily can actually make people worse at critical thinking.
    — Ted Ladd, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of lazily
Adverb
  • But genuinely funny moments are rare, badly outnumbered by done-to-death musings regarding the mysteries of being alive and torturous melodramatic moments in which Klara dully absorbs the severity of Josie’s illness and Chrissy’s sorrow.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Yikes, this finale fell as flat and dully as Janet’s solo cup hit Danny’s head.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 30 July 2026
Definition of dully
Adverb
  • While Chanel, which last season shut out guests who arrived a couple of minutes late, started its show — gasp — tardily.
    — THOMAS ADAMSON, ajc, 7 Mar. 2023
Definition of tardily
Adverb
  • Holding all his timeouts, Glenn stood idly on the sideline like a spectator.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Calvo, meanwhile, sits at a desk in his hotel room, gazing into the camera lens placidly while idly sketching on a sheet of paper.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of idly
Adverb
  • Arriving a week before Christmas, Mark halfheartedly tries to pull together a celebration for Bobby, but fate intervenes when the Seversons meet the Kringles, a family that celebrates the holiday year-round.
    — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026
  • When Oscar halfheartedly tries to throw a ball into one of the set’s prop cubes and improbably makes the shot, the whole set goes joyously nuts, with the performers leaping up to embrace him and cavort around him.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of halfheartedly
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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inanimately
inanities
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Cite this Entry

“Inanimately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanimately. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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