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Glite Dictionary
drily

drily

1 7.2
In a quiet, serious way that shows you are joking or being sarcastic
  • adverb
  • /ˈdraɪli/
translation icon : secos
  • "My lord bishop may command me," Margaret said drily.
  • said drily
  • replied drily
  • drily observed

Examples

  • "I suppose you came here to do more than sulk," the queen said drily.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "He'd borrowed that one from some friend," Mr. Stratton said drily.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • After looking her over several times, she said drily:

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "I thought you must be a mage when I saw you," he said a little drily.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "You may construe it if you like, Major," Lee said drily.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • That's real bad, man. "He means real good," Jen said, drily.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "You noticed a lot in an eye-blink," he commented drily.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "You have a peculiar fondness for birds," she said drily.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "I hardly think," replied Callioux drily, "that the government will kill them for the unfortunate accident of having been left behind."

    Fiction book (1990)

  • "You're unstoppable," he said drily, not wanting to sound overly enthusiastic.

Synonyms

sarcastically
vsdrily
20 4.4

In a way that says the opposite to show you do not mean it

is milder and often less directly hostile than that mocking tone
dryly
vsdrily
18 6.1

In a calm, serious way that seems slightly funny

has identical meaning but uses an alternative spelling
tongue-in-cheek
vsdrily
  • Informal
15 7.4

Said jokingly and not meant to be taken seriously

is more matter of fact and less openly insincere or playful
wryly
vsdrily
12 7.0

In a dry, slightly mocking way

leans more toward plain understatement rather than obvious mockery
facetiously
vsdrily
3 8.1

In a joking way that is not meant to be taken seriously

is more matter of fact and subtly ironic than open joking
sardonically
vsdrily
2 8.4

In a mocking, bitter way that shows strong dislike

is usually less bitter and more quietly understated in its irony
drolly
vsdrily
1 6.9

In a funny, slightly odd way that makes people smile

is more understated and ironic rather than whimsical or odd
mordantly
vsdrily
  • Formal
1 8.8

In a sharp, often cruel way that can hurt people when joking or criticizing

is milder and less openly critical or harsh in tone

Antonyms

sincerely
152 1.0

In a way that shows true feelings without pretending

earnestly
20 3.9

In a serious and honest way that shows a strong wish

How Dry

sarcastically
20 4.4
ironically
213 5.5
wryly
12 7.0
drily
1 7.2

Surface Forms

drily positive

Morphology

drily = dry (transparent) = dry + ly

Standard adverb formation from 'dry' with '-ly'; the adverbial meaning 'in a dry (i.e. understated or ironic) manner' is directly derived from the adjective.

Etymology

Drily is the adverb form of dry plus -ly. Think of dry as 'without moisture'—like a dry mouth or dry weather—and as a memory hook, imagine that lack of moisture as a lack of warmth; from that came the idea 'not showing much feeling', so to speak drily is to say something in a plain, matter-of-fact, often ironic way.