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genially

American  
[jeen-yuh-lee, jee-nee-uh-lee] / ˈdʒin yə li, ˈdʒi ni ə li /

adverb

  1. in a pleasantly cheerful or cordial way.

    As the dishes were passed around, we quibbled genially over whether to use two tortillas or one per taco.

Etymology

Origin of genially

genial 1 ( def. ) + -ly

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.

Partisanship was in many ways alien to Cowley’s probing and genially learned critical temperament, which Mr. Howard describes as “Emersonian, humanistic, exploratory.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Industry publication Screen Daily said the film was "shot, one suspects, with a touch of guerrilla ingenuity... Last Swim also has a palpably improvised component in the friends' genially pitched running banter."

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2025

In Montecito, Parnther settled his audience in with Weber’s overture to “Euryanthe,” which he genially and satirically introduced.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 14, 2023

Gill’s police chief, 5 feet tall, walrus mustache, considered genially effective if utterly corrupt.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2023

Sofia smiles genially, even though her eyes tell a different story.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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.