silently
- adverb
- /ˈsaɪləntli/
- She read the book silently, lost in the characters and the unfolding plot.
- read silently
- silently or aloud
- read a passage silently
So and then we read those memos silently in the meeting.
- So and then we read those memos silently in the meeting.
- It came in silently and then silently left.
- And he was just like, silently crying, like going through this whole camp.
- He sat silently gazing from face to face in this.
- If you didn't enjoy it, you wouldn't moan, you would silently suffer it.
- And then they do it silently in your head.
- The CPU event seems to have been silently cancelled as well.
- But they get there because people sit silently.
- A woman was arrested for last year, silently praying.
- You can wear them, but I'm going to silently judge.
Examples
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The cat crept silently across the room, avoiding any noise as it stalked its toy.
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During the movie, everyone sat silently in their seats, captivated by the story.
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You can all sit silently in the dark for two hours together.
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We both lie silently still In the dead of the night
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Willing to sit silently in one place for hours at a time.
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We walk on for a ways silently and then turn to go back.
Academic text (1993) -
One by one, they silently take their positions.
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Can you sense our guests here in our midst silently waiting to be introduced?
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Students read each passage silently and immediately answer seven multiple-choice questions about the passage.
Academic text (2015) -
Students may perceive their ability to read silently as very different from their ability to read aloud.
Academic text (2013)
Synonyms
In a quiet way that makes little or no noise
Not speaking or making any sound
To do something without speaking or using words
In a way that makes no sound
Without speaking or making any sound
Without making any sound
So quietly that no one can hear
Used when a decision or action is not said openly, often in law
Antonyms
How Silent
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word silently comes from silent, meaning 'quiet' or 'without sound', and the ending -ly that turns a word into one that tells how something is done, so silently means 'in a quiet way'.