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Glite Dictionary
piratically

piratically

9.9
In a bold illegal way, often taking things without permission
  • adverb
  • /ˈpaɪrətɪkli/
translation icon : piráticamente
  • He dressed piratically, with a tattered coat and an eye patch, ready for a life of adventure.

Examples

  • As I was leaving the house, I realized there was a rip in the back pocket of the jeans, but I was running late, so I just grabbed a (in retrospect, fairly piratically multicolored) scarf and tied it around my waist.

    Blog text (12)

  • His hours in the winter sun had kept him walnut brown, and his teeth flashed piratically in the dimness of the little shop.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • "Hey!" yelled a piratically clad attendant as he tried to simultaneously keep the waiting passengers from falling into the empty space where the boat had been while attempting to grab the longboat's rail.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The crew acted piratically, raiding the merchant ship without any fear of consequences.

  • They planned their heist piratically, disregarding any laws to get what they wanted.

How Piratical

lawlessly
1 7.2
piratically
9.9
boldly
54 3.3

Surface Forms

piratically positive

Morphology

piratically = piratical (transparent) = piratical + ly

The adverb is formed by adding the regular adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'piratical', yielding a predictable meaning 'in a pirate-like way'.

Etymology

Piratically comes from pirate, a word for a 'sea robber' who took goods by force. So, to act piratically is to behave like a pirate, being bold, lawless, or taking things 'without permission'.