adverb
-
in a jaunty or high-spirited manner
-
in a light or delicate manner
Other Word Forms
- unairily adverb
Etymology
Origin of airily
First recorded in 1760–70; see airy, -ly ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This led me to be very wary of people airily predicting that democracy was finished, and made me alive to the way that, paradoxically, such nightmares can actually damage democracy.
From Salon • May 7, 2025
I told my story light and airily, but it was heavy when it happened.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2024
“The stories are also connected by their style, which is airily suggestive,” our reviewer, Alex Preston, writes.
From New York Times • Jul. 15, 2021
I spoke with her teacher about both of these issues, and she airily said things were now fine socially and was nitpicky about my daughter’s academics.
From Slate • Nov. 5, 2020
“I’m not interested in syndication,” she said to Moody rather airily, when he asked why she didn’t make multiples.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
