Language/English/Grammar/Adjectives-ending-in-ly

In English, as many adverbs often end in -ly, adjectives ending in -ly can easily get mistaken for adverbs. This article aims to provide a comprehensive list of such adjectives, helping you to better understand and master the use of these unique words. In the list below, you will find many adjectives ending in -ly (a few of them can be both adjectives and adverbs).

As a general rule, words deriving from [adjective] + -ly are adverbs, while words deriving from [noun] + -ly are adjectives.

So, let's dive into the world of "-ly" adjectives! 📚

After exploring this lesson, you may also find it helpful to consult other related pages, just to name a few, such as Although vs. Even though, Tips for Using Adjectives, and Common Mistakes with 'What' and 'That'.

List of adjectives ending in -ly

A

• authorly
• angrily

B

• beastly
• bodily
• bristly
• brotherly
• bubbly
• burly

C

• chilly
• comely
• costly
• courtly
• cowardly
• Crassly
• crinkly
• crumbly
• cuddly
• curly

D

• daily (Can also be an adverb)
• dastardly
• deadly
• deathly
• disorderly

E

• early
• earthly
• easterly
• elderly

F

• fatherly
• fortnightly (Can also be an adverb)
• friendly
• frilly

G

• gangly
• gentlemanly
• ghastly
• ghostly
• giggly
• godly
• goodly
• gravelly
• Greatly
• grisly

H

• heavenly
• hilly
• holy
• homely
• hourly
• housekeeperly
• humanly
• husbandly

J

• jiggly
• jolly

K

• kindly (can also be an adverb)
• kingly
• Kingly

L

• leisurely
• likely
• lively
• logically
• lonely
• lovely
• lowly
• luckily

M

• maidenly
• manly
• mannerly
• masterly
• matronly
• mealy
• measly
• melancholy
• miserly
• monthly (Can also be an adverb)
• motherly

N

• neighbourly
• nightly
• north easterly
• northerly
• north-westerly

O

• oily
• only
• orderly
• otherworldly

P

• painterly
• pearly
• pebbly
• pimply
• poorly
• Portly
• priestly
• princely
• premeditatedly
• physically

Q

• quarterly
• queenly

R

• rumbly

S

• saintly
• scaly
• scholarly
• shapely
• sickly
• silly
• sisterly
• slatternly
• slovenly
• sly
• smelly
• southerly
• sparkly
• spindly
• sprightly
• squiggly
• stately
• Stately
• swiftly (can also be an adverb)

T

• timely
• treacly

U

• ugly
• unearthly
• unfriendly
• ungainly
• unlikely
• unruly
• unseemly
• unsightly
• untimely
• unworldly

W

• weekly (Can also be an adverb)
• westerly
• wifely
• wily
• wobbly
• womanly
• woolly
• worldly
• wriggly
• wrinkly

Y

• yearly (can also be an adverb)

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun. Adjectives may come before the word they change.

• Example: "It is a cute dog."

Adjectives may also follow the word they modify:

• Example: "That cat looks nice."

Verbs where an adjective ("nice") describes the subject ("That cat") are known as stative verbs. It is the action

of the verb which gives the subject its attribute described by the adjective. Common stative verbs include "to be",

"to become", "to smell" and "to feel".

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word that modifies verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.

Adverbs answer how, when, where, why, or to what extent—how often or how much (e.g., daily, completely).

• Examples: "He walks slowly" (tells how)

In this case, the adverb ("slowly") describes the action ("how") of the verb ("to walk").

How to change an adjective ending in -ly into an adverb?

Many adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding the ending -ly:

• beautiful becomes beautifully
• bad become badly

However, adjectives ending in -ly cannot be turned into adverbs by adding -ly.

In most cases, the adjective form and adverb form of adjectives ending in "-ly" are the same.

Here are some examples:

• kindly (adjective and adverb)
• lovely (adjective and adverb)
• friendly (adjective and adverb)
• lonely (adjective and adverb)

So, to change an adjective ending in "-ly" into an adverb, you don't need to add or change anything, simply use the same word.

You can also use a different structure like in the example below :

• lovely becomes in a lovely way.

Authors

• m7mdnasser
• _Julitka_

Sources

https://polyglotclub.com/language/english/question/35524

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