daintily

[ deyn-ti-lee ]

adverb

1. in a way that shows fine or delicate manners or tastes:

   She'd been nibbling daintily on a sparerib; now she dabbed her lips with a napkin.

2. with particular care to avoid soiling, spilling, damage, etc.; fastidiously:

   We piled our trash daintily atop overfilled garbage cans.

3. delicately and beautifully, or with fine, exquisite detail:

   I was glad for the moment to be neither an ornithologist nor an entomologist, so that I might leave every one of these daintily colored sunbirds and butterflies to the enjoyment of its life.

Other Words From

• o·ver·dain·ti·ly adverb
• un·dain·ti·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of daintily¹

dainty ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The creature daintily stepped into it, smiling shyly up at Jack as his grandfather walked over.

From Literature

At one point, she daintily wraps a piece of tulle ribbon around a raw fish carcass.

From Salon

As Napoleon strolled into the dining tent, his chef quickly fried up the eggs from his steward’s pocket and placed them daintily atop the general’s feast.

From Washington Post

You see how Julie methodically, and with a hint of odd urgency, unpacks her luggage, and how Rosalind daintily removes a tablet from a pillbox.

From New York Times

The first man bites daintily into a brownish-green loaf and sips pale liquid.

From Literature

Related Words

• casually
• delicately
• easily
• faintly
• freely
• gingerly
• mildly
• moderately
• quietly
• simply
• slightly
• softly
• sparsely
• subtly
• tenderly
• thinly