as in humbly
in a manner showing no signs of pride or self-assertion
all of the extended family was expected to be submissively amenable to the matriarch's wishes
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Recent Examples of submissively
Outwardly Smart behaved submissively, following her captors’ instructions while always looking for a way to escape.
—
Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for submissively
Adverb
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The drive The test took place humbly in downtown Los Angeles, mostly – no race tracks or solo three-lane highway sojourns.—
Josh Max,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
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Theirs started humbly, and a bit unexpectedly.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Moreover, the notion the public will meekly accept weaker radiation standards without explanation seems foolhardy.—
Katy Huff,
Scientific American,
23 Jan. 2026
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Ball handlers would dribble close to the basket, only to meekly back away, sensing him looming.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
17 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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What behaves politely in one climate or situation can become problematic in another, such as a garden abutting an open landscape.—
Erica Browne Grivas,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Jan. 2026
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Beckford later asked politely to try on my jacket—a black Double RL officer’s coat from the 90 —and noticed the tags and buttons of a bygone era.—
Zachary Weiss,
Vanity Fair,
18 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Shields, 62, sheepishly joked after two false starts.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
28 Nov. 2025
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An engineer with a litter-picker grabbed the fallen cloth and sheepishly moved it behind the machine, out of my line of sight.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Princess Bride is superbly planned and deferentially orchestrated — its theme fits its telling.—
Duane Byrge,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Submissively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/submissively. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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