Word family noun quiet disquiet quietness quietism quietude adjective quiet verb quieten quiet adverb quietly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishquietlyqui‧et‧ly /ˈkwaɪətli/ ●●● S3 W3 adverb 1 QUIETwithout making much noise Rosa shut the door quietly. ‘I’m sorry, ’ she said quietly. a quietly-spoken man (=one who always speaks quietly)2 ATTENTIONin a way that does not attract attention The mayor had been aiming to quietly turn over control of the city’s water to private business interests. The government hoped that their early mishandling of the crisis could be quietly forgotten.3 without protesting, complaining, or fighting Now are you gonna come quietly, or do I have to use force? Speculation is growing that Grogan will be replaced at the end of the season, and he is unlikely to go quietly.4 → quietly confidentExamples from the Corpus
quietly• "I'm sorry, " she said quietly.• Compared with them, however, Harry possessed one crucial advantage: the right to decide that he would not go quietly.• I sat quietly and listened to their exchange.• I moved quietly and slowly, pressing myself against the outer wall of the building.• The meeting was quietly arranged to avoid reporters.• Insects, worn out after a night of chirping, were quietly asleep.• The patrol moves quietly from its position of all-round defence.• The film is quietly handed over to the Flag Day chairman, and his office distributes it.• When he wins, he looks quietly pleased.quietly forgotten• The puzzles of East Elloe well therefore probably be quietly forgotten.come quietly• The earth is coming quietly and darkly up from a great depth, Still under the surface.• At about 4.55 they came quietly and nervously from each community - right up to where the inspector and I stood.• He fought bravely until the end, which came quietly in a New York hospital.• The door of her sitting room opened and Stephen Lampart came quietly in.• Some one came quietly out of the crowd and spoke to the other officer, looking at me.• Swish, swish, the noise came quietly through to me. 