adverb

smartly

SMAHT-lee

Smartly (adverb) means In a neat, fashionable manner. Example: “She was smartly dressed for the ceremony.”

adverb

In a neat, fashionable manner.

"She was smartly dressed for the ceremony."

Quickly and briskly.

"The soldiers marched smartly across the parade ground."

How to use smartly

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishNeatly, briskly, or intelligently, depending on context.

Common pairings

smartly dressed walk smartly

more smartly comparative, most smartly superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

She was _____ dressed for the ceremony.

From Middle English "smertly," formed from "smart" plus the adverb ending "-ly."

Origin: Middle English

vigorously cleverly modishly sprucely

strongly actively aggressively vigorously cleverly sprucely

partly

What does “smartly” mean?

The word “smartly” means in a neat, fashionable manner. In plain terms, neatly, briskly, or intelligently, depending on context.

How do you pronounce “smartly”?

“Smartly” is pronounced SMAHT-lee (/ˈsmɑː(ɹ)tli/ in IPA).

How do you use “smartly” in a sentence?

Here is “smartly” used in a sentence: “She was smartly dressed for the ceremony.”

What part of speech is “smartly”?

“Smartly” is an adverb.

Where does the word “smartly” come from?

The word “smartly” comes from Middle English. From Middle English "smertly," formed from "smart" plus the adverb ending "-ly.".

How many meanings does “smartly” have?

“Smartly” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: in a neat, fashionable manner.

strongly actively aggressively vigorously cleverly sprucely