1
as in quietly
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2
as in lightly
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Recent Examples of softly
The liquid bronzer also features light-diffusing silica that softly blurs texture, and antioxidant-rich elderberry pairs with soothing botanicals like evening primrose to help keep dry, mature skin comfortable.
—
Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 5 Mar. 2026
Below is a frosted lens of durable ABS that softly diffuses the LED light.
—Miles Walls, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026
To recreate the look, ask your stylist for long, face-framing bangs that start at the cheekbones or jawline and taper softly into layered ends.
—Amanda Le, InStyle, 4 Mar. 2026
The three added their flowers to the memorial and embraced each other as Annie Guthrie appeared to softly whimper.
—Perry Vandell, AZCentral.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Chirping insects form a steady backdrop, rain softly trickles from leaves.
—Leonie Baier, The Conversation, 27 Feb. 2026
October 23 – November 21 Scorpio, truth lands softly yet powerfully now.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2026
An instigator all night long for the Chargers, the 5-foot-3 Dutkanych finally took in the scene around her before reaching up to softly rub a growing lump on her forehead, reddened by the ice.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
Suzuki held onto the puck, absorbed a light cross-check from Lukas Sedlak, chipped it softly into the Czech zone and prepared himself to battle defenseman Filip Hronek for that puck.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 5 Mar. 2026
Below is a frosted lens of durable ABS that softly diffuses the LED light.
—Miles Walls, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Mar. 2026
To recreate the look, ask your stylist for long, face-framing bangs that start at the cheekbones or jawline and taper softly into layered ends.
—Amanda Le, InStyle, 4 Mar. 2026
The three added their flowers to the memorial and embraced each other as Annie Guthrie appeared to softly whimper.
—Perry Vandell, AZCentral.com, 2 Mar. 2026
Chirping insects form a steady backdrop, rain softly trickles from leaves.
—Leonie Baier, The Conversation, 27 Feb. 2026
October 23 – November 21 Scorpio, truth lands softly yet powerfully now.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 25 Feb. 2026
An instigator all night long for the Chargers, the 5-foot-3 Dutkanych finally took in the scene around her before reaching up to softly rub a growing lump on her forehead, reddened by the ice.
—Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
Suzuki held onto the puck, absorbed a light cross-check from Lukas Sedlak, chipped it softly into the Czech zone and prepared himself to battle defenseman Filip Hronek for that puck.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for softly
Adverb
-
Steps from the Capitol's West Front and where the worst of the fighting occurred, workers quietly have installed a plaque honoring the officers, three years after it was required by law to be erected.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Women were punished differently — whipped, branded, sold, imprisoned, or quietly executed.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
8 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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This selection blooms at an early age, with lovely, lightly fragrant racemes gracefully falling downward.—
Zoe Gowen,
Southern Living,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Add the chicken cubes in a single layer and cook until seared and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.—
Virginia Willis,
AJC.com,
7 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Just brine, warm vegetation, and the faintly mineral smell of volcanic rock baking in January sun.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Even with the latch secured, the music was still faintly audible.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Brake gently as needed - Brake normally if the vehicle has anti-lock brakes and pump brakes gently if in an older vehicle.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2026
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Apply coconut oil up and down the zipper, then gently pull it up and down to work the oil into the teeth.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Heathcliff’s racial ambiguity — so central to the novel’s violence and otherness — is feebly erased.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
11 Feb. 2026
-
One man aboard the boat knew how to navigate the mangroves and sandbars of the keys, and with the late summer sun beating down on the rafters, the boat pushed out feebly into the open ocean.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
The making of such a film would look a lot like the funny, tenderly melancholic, and wonderful Candidates of Death.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
-
In one picture, a slim teen-ager reaches over tentatively, tenderly, to peel a bandage off another boy’s bare thigh, a moment both touching and wonderfully matter-of-fact.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
On a brilliant midsummer morning, my wife and I stepped into a black Zodiac raft and drifted noiselessly among icebergs five stories high, their emerald and aquamarine walls gleaming above sapphire waters.—
Pico Iyer,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Softly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/softly. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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