sighingly
- adverb
- /ˈsaɪɪŋli/
:
suspirando
- After the disappointing news, he sighed and replied sighingly, "I guess that's how it goes."
Examples
-
She looked at the old photos sighingly, reminiscing about better days.
-
"It was perfect," the girl in the commercial sighingly says at the end of their date, starry-eyed and in soft focus; you can see they will have sex, if not this date then the next, and marry and live happily ever after, all by the grace of Gallo.
Fiction book (1990) -
He sighingly admitted that he had forgotten her birthday.
Synonyms
15
1.3
In a sad or regretful way
13
3.8
Saying something while feeling sorry, often when you tell bad news
11
6.9
In a way that shows you feel sorry about something you did
10
5.6
In a sad way that shows you wish for something you no longer have
9
3.2
With tears to show that someone feels sad
6
5.8
In a sad, quiet way that shows someone is unhappy
4
4.7
In a sad way that shows grief
4
6.7
In a sad, soft way that sounds like crying
3
5.5
In a serious and sad way
3
4.1
In a sad way that shows no hope
3
7.0
In a quiet, serious way that shows deep thought and a little sadness
2
6.5
In a sad, disappointed way
1
4.6
In a sad way that shows a person is sorry
1
6.1
In a way that shows no hope
1
7.2
In a sad way that shows you are unhappy
1
7.3
In a sad, hopeless way that shows you have lost hope
In a soft, low way like a gentle sigh
In a very sad way
In a sad and thoughtful way
In a way that shows someone is crying
In a sad, tired way with little energy
How Audible
Surface Forms
Morphology
sighingly = sighing (transparent) = sigh + ing + ly
Formed by adding '-ly' to 'sighing' (sigh + -ing); the resulting adverb directly means 'in a manner involving sighing', which is obvious from the base.
Etymology
Sighingly comes from the simple word sigh, a long soft 'breath' people make when they feel sad, tired, or relieved, plus the endings -ing and -ly that turn it into how something is done. So, to do something sighingly is to do it with that quiet, breathy feeling of disappointment or relief.