quaintly
3
6.4
- adverb
- /ˈkwɛɪntli/
:
de manera pintoresca
- It seems at once almost ultra-contemporaneous, as though it had been written yesterday about New Age and postmodern excitements of one sort or another, and quaintly remote, suffused with period atmosphere, like The Bostonians, "Self-Reliance," or Science and Health.
Examples
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Until that occurs, talk about the nature of law will sound quaintly mysterious.
Blog text (10) -
Bagehot's Physics and Politics (1872) is much less well-known than his essay on the English Constitution, and it now reads rather quaintly; but it is an interesting piece of work.
Academic text (1997) -
So there was nothing to pay for, as you so quaintly put it.
Blog text (33) -
Why is it that some of us still go to watch live bodies engaged in quaintly heroic dialectics with space and time?
Academic text (1993) -
Until the late 1960s, the financial world was quaintly stable: exchange rates were inflexible, interest rates were regulated, and the whole system was anchored by a fixed gold price.
Academic text (2007) -
Don't you remember those Saturday nights in the 30's and 40's when old Mrs. Taylor would perform what Mother quaintly called a "house sit" so that Mom and Pop could go to the flicks?
Fiction book (2002) -
The damp, dark innards of the Monument amounted to a black granite cell lined with bronze plaques showing the names of local boys who died, quaintly but nobly, in the Civil War.
Fiction book (1996) -
The tea shop was decorated quaintly, attracting many visitors with its old-fashioned charm.
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She chose to dress quaintly for the party, wearing a vintage gown that reminded everyone of a bygone era.
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The village fair felt quaintly nostalgic, featuring traditional games and homemade crafts.
Synonyms
11
3.0
In a pleasant way that makes people like you
3
2.5
In a way that looks nice and makes people notice it
3
5.7
In a playful, creative way that feels a little strange
2
3.8
In a way that looks pleasant and attracts people
1
4.2
In a way that makes people feel very interested
1
7.3
In a charming way that makes people like you
1
6.2
In an attractive, charming way that draws positive attention
1
7.2
In a way that makes a place look like a painting
1
6.8
In an odd, playful way that shows personal style
1
5.9
In a way that is attractive and makes people pay attention
1
5.8
In a charming way that delights people and holds their attention
In a very charming, almost magical way that attracts people
Antonyms
How Charming
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word quaintly comes from quaint, an old word that once meant 'clever', from the French cointe, and is related to acquaint ('make known'). Over time the sense moved to 'charmingly old-fashioned', which is why quaintly means 'in a charming, old-fashioned way'.