softly
advUS /ˈsɔftli/ · UK /ˈsɒftli/
Etymology From Middle English softely, softeliche, equivalent to soft + -ly.
1
In a soft manner; gently.
- The masseuse was rubbing my back too softly for my liking, so I asked her to go harder.
- He had married a lady well educated and softly nurtured, but not dowered with worldly wealth. […] They would give up ideas of gentle living, of soft raiment, and delicate feeding.1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:
2
Not loudly; nearly inaudibly.
- whisper softly in someone's ear
- play music softly
3
With subdued color; faded or misty with distance.
- And they sat very still, the two of them, and looked out over that great, beautiful desert—away to the home mesa that they could see, softly blue, in the distance.1928, Grace Moon, “VII. The Tale of the Sacred Eagle”, in The Runaway Papoose:
- Derived terms
- softly softly, speak softly and carry a big stick, talk softly and carry a big stick, tread softly, tread-softly, walk softly and carry a big stick