chummily
- adverb
- /ˈtʃʌmɪli/
- Informal
- "The world's not such a heavy place," she said chummily, and he nodded and smiled.
Examples
-
"Hi, Nixon," you'd say chummily.
Fiction book (2002) -
Favoring Chilton as he sits chummily on the table. Chilton
Fiction book (1991) -
"Hello, how are you doing today?" she asked chummily, her smile brightening the room.
-
They chatted chummily over coffee, sharing stories and laughter like old friends.
-
The children played chummily in the park, enjoying each other's company without a care.
Synonyms
In a friendly way that shows you enjoy being with someone
Antonyms
How Friendly
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Chummily comes from chum, a casual word for 'friend', and that word grew from an old term chambermate meaning 'roommate' because people who share a room often become close. Over time chummy came to mean warm and friendly, so to behave chummily is to act like a close, familiar friend.