genially

[ jeen-yuh-lee, jee-nee-uh-lee ]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of genially¹

genial ¹( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

The R rating awarded to “Self Reliance” for its language only proves the heavy-handedness of our rating system, as you’ll strain to hear anything in this genially bonkers comedy that couldn’t have been written by an 11-year-old.

From New York Times

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

From Los Angeles Times

Ms. Davis, 67, relayed this story in her 2022 memoir, “Dying of Politeness,” an encapsulation of the genially stultifying values that she had absorbed as a child — and that a great many other girls absorb, too: Defer.

From New York Times

Made with the league’s complete cooperation, not to mention its spiritual blessing, this is an earnest and way-contrived endeavor that manages, due largely to Costner’s efforts, to be genially diverting in a gee-whiz kind of way.

From Los Angeles Times

For an institution that is supposed to chunter away genially in the background, it has been quite in-your-face for a while now.

From BBC

Related Words

• blithely
• brightly
• gaily
• gladly
• gleefully
• happily
• joyfully
• merrily
• optimistically
• playfully
• pleasantly
• readily
• willingly