gainly
Americanadjective
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
- gainliness noun
Etymology
Origin of gainly
First recorded in 1850–55; probably back formation from ungainly
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.
Like Babe Ruth, gaunt and gainly Gunder H�gg has become popular with Swedish newsmen because of his ability to call his shots in advance.
From Time Magazine Archive
I did not fashion the man," said Faith, biting her lip, and tossing her head; "nor is it aught to me whether he be gainly or not.
From The Wept of Wish-Ton-Wish by Cooper, James Fenimore
"Learned pigs," however, such as are exhibited at country fairs, are a rare occurrence, and the family to which they belong is essentially one "gross" in character, and far from gainly in appearance.
From Heads and Tales : or, Anecdotes and Stories of Quadrupeds and Other Beasts, Chiefly Connected with Incidents in the Histories of More or Less Distinguished Men. by White, Adam
Never a gainly man—short-legged, broad, uncouth—his was yet a figure in keeping with the scene; unkempt and haggard, blue-lipped, drenched by sea and rain, he was never less than a Master of the Sea.
From The Brassbounder A Tale of the Sea by Bone, David W.
In our admiration we entirely separate these qualities from that least gainly and least wholesome of the forms of Christian piety with which they are here found connected.
From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 378, April, 1847 by Various
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.
