soundly
advUK, US /ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/
Etymology From Middle English soundly, soundely, from Old English ġesundlīċe (“safely, prosperously, gladly”), equivalent to sound + -ly. Originally meaning "safely", the present sense came in the 16ᵗʰ century.
1
In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.
- He was soundly thrashed by the semi-professional boxer.
- Pro. Let them be hunted ſoundly : At this houre / Lies at my mercy all mine enemies :[…]1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 16:
3 more examples
- Mrs. Reed soon rallied her spirits: she shook me most soundly, she boxed both my ears, and then left me without a word.1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IV, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 42–43:
- The wedding company, fatigued with their enjoyment of the previous night, slept soundly late into the next morning.1899, William George Aston, A History of Japanese Literature, page 272:
- My gold carried little weight with him, he was sincerely fond of me and consequently rated me soundly for all indiscretions, declaring I would regret wasting the best years of my life and deadening my vast talents […]1911, L. D. Biagi, The Centaurians, Ch. I:
- Synonyms
- completely, deeply, firmly, fully, perfectly, roundly, thoroughly, totally