bigly

[ big-lee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

in a big way; greatly:
Their gifts made the children smile bigly.
Aaron was tall for his age, and bigly built.
strongly; with violent force:
Waves pounded bigly against our starboard side.
boastfully; haughtily:
She pronounces her opinions bigly, as if they are divine mandates.

Origin of bigly¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ; see big ¹( def ) + -ly

The painting was simply done, commencing with the point of interest, the masses put in bigly, the details worked into them.

The quick strokes of the paddle-wheels whitened the waters;—the sail bellied bigly to the wind.

He was well made, cleanly and bigly, and neither too young nor too old.

Though thin, the man was bigly built, with broad shoulders and well-developed limbs, measuring a trifle under six feet in height.

A Beelzebub; he spake as bigly and fiercely as a soaken yeoman at an election feast,—this obedient and conducible youth!

April 17, 2024axolotl

[ak-suh-lot-l ]

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Browse