Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
metronomically

metronomically

7.4
In a steady, regular way like a clock or drumbeat
  • adverb
  • /ˌmɛtrəˈnoʊmɪkli/
translation icon : metronómicamente
  • The unexpressive sections were played without variation in dynamics (everything was played mezzo forte), consistently used a nonlegato articulation (no pedal), and were played metronomically.

Examples

  • "I tilt back and forth metronomically.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I sat on the edge of the twin, watching her long, bare legs move back and forth, slowly, metronomically.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • By all accounts, being a son of heaven had been metronomically measured, prodigiously tedious.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Rollo had shaken his head metronomically throughout Robbie's remarks.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • He practiced the piano metronomically, ensuring each note was played with precise timing.

  • The clock ticked metronomically, marking the steady passage of time in the quiet room.

  • In her dance routine, she moved metronomically to the rhythm of the music, keeping a perfect beat.

Synonyms

like clockwork
vsmetronomically
  • Informal
27 3.6

Happens at the same time without problems

emphasizes steady exact beats and timing rather than general smoothness
rhythmically
vsmetronomically
10 4.1

In a steady pattern of sound or movement

focuses on exact steady timing rather than a musical patterned feel

Antonyms

unsteadily
7 3.9

In a way that is not steady or balanced

irregularly
4 4.2

Happens at different times and not in a steady way

How Regular

metronomically
7.4
regularly
386 1.0
steadily
129 2.1
unevenly
8 3.5
randomly
126 2.4

Surface Forms

metronomically positive

Morphology

metronomically = metronomic (transparent) = metronome + ic + ally

The adverb is formed by adding the adverbial suffix to the adjective 'metronomic' (which comes from 'metronome'), and the meaning 'in a steady, metronome-like way' follows directly.

Etymology

The word metronomically comes from metronome, the little device musicians use to keep a steady beat. The name metronome comes from the Greek root metron meaning 'measure', so doing something metronomically means doing it in a regular, measured, and very steady way.