airily

[ air-uh-lee ]

adverb

1. in a lively or breezy manner; jauntily.
2. delicately; lightly.

airily

/ ˈɛərɪlɪ /

adverb

1. in a jaunty or high-spirited manner
2. in a light or delicate manner

Other Words From

• un·airi·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of airily¹

First recorded in 1760–70; see airy, -ly ( def )

Example Sentences

The play’s snotty actors, meanwhile, clearly consider their foe a proletarian rube and airily patronize him.

From New York Times

“Oh, didn’t anyone tell you?” the mystery girl asked airily.

From Literature

The production that opened on Wednesday at the Park Avenue Armory, directed by Icke and starring Juliet Stevenson, is less the exercise in Shavian moral argument that Schnitzler rather airily called a comedy than a tragic thought experiment about the failure of identity politics.

From New York Times

Her long aria in the second act, as she remembers her childhood in the Virgin Islands and suggests some of the unhappiness she’s passed on, is perhaps the most musically intriguing sequence in the show, with a seductive, soaring vocal line — tailor-made for Latonia Moore’s airily flexible soprano, with its passionate high notes — and a quiet, austere plucked accompaniment for a solo double bass.

From New York Times

That action kicks off in New York in 1933; the interwar years are slowly rumbling to a close, and whispers of unrest can be heard beneath the bustling city noise and the notes of Daniel Pemberton’s airily charming score.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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