as in still
without motion
she stood quietly behind the curtains, hoping to scare her sister when she came into the room
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Recent Examples of quietly
Her family quietly passed up its own deadline to sell in January, prompting questions about whether the asking price was too high and whether The Economist’s powerful trustees were able to agree on a suitable buyer.
—
Max Tani, semafor.com, 23 Feb. 2026
This quietly poetic slice-of-life film follows a week in the life of Paterson (Adam Driver), a bus driver who happens to work in the New Jersey city of the same name.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026
The Rigid colorway was quietly pulled ahead of its launch with no official reason given, and now there are reports that some of the pairs were affected by quality issues.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 22 Feb. 2026
Tons of companies are quietly retreating from diversity commitments made just a few years ago.
—Brennan Nevada Johnson, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2026
When every issue is reduced to economics alone, profits are easily prioritized over human needs, and ethical constraints on economic reasoning quietly erode.
—Kenneth Zagacki, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
Spring travel season is officially on the horizon, and Amazon is quietly rolling out major savings—especially for Prime members.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2026
Spring in the South does not arrive quietly.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2026
The weather service said the storm could arrive quietly on Sunday with rainfall in some places before worsening, with the heaviest snowfall expected Sunday night.
—CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
Max Tani, semafor.com, 23 Feb. 2026
This quietly poetic slice-of-life film follows a week in the life of Paterson (Adam Driver), a bus driver who happens to work in the New Jersey city of the same name.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Feb. 2026
The Rigid colorway was quietly pulled ahead of its launch with no official reason given, and now there are reports that some of the pairs were affected by quality issues.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 22 Feb. 2026
Tons of companies are quietly retreating from diversity commitments made just a few years ago.
—Brennan Nevada Johnson, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2026
When every issue is reduced to economics alone, profits are easily prioritized over human needs, and ethical constraints on economic reasoning quietly erode.
—Kenneth Zagacki, Chicago Tribune, 22 Feb. 2026
Spring travel season is officially on the horizon, and Amazon is quietly rolling out major savings—especially for Prime members.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 22 Feb. 2026
Spring in the South does not arrive quietly.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2026
The weather service said the storm could arrive quietly on Sunday with rainfall in some places before worsening, with the heaviest snowfall expected Sunday night.
—CBS News, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quietly
Adverb
-
Meanwhile, everyone is still running around like the Keystone Kops chasing Billie, passing an old lady in a bed eating Jell-O who mumbles something in Diné.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Feb. 2026
-
When Gu drops into the halfpipe, listening to American rap, her brain is still working at 100mph, sometimes visualizing a takeoff one second before performing her trick.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Some workers just quiet-quit, doing the minimum to hold on to their jobs.—
Christopher Dinsmore,
Baltimore Sun,
8 Dec. 2022
-
On another end were the quiet-seeking bedrooms and bathrooms, one with a step-down Roman shower.—
oregonlive,
oregonlive,
7 Nov. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Quietly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quietly. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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