Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

smartly

/ˈsmɑː(ɹ)tli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English

Syllables: smart-ly
IPA: /ˈsmɑː(ɹ)tli/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

With a fine or fashionable appearance.

adv

adv

Example Sentences

"smartly dressed"
"She wakened in sharp panic, bewildered by the grotesquerie of some half-remembered dream in contrast with the harshness of inclement fact, drowsily realizing that since she had fallen asleep it had come on to rain smartly out of a shrouded sky."
"He set smartly off towards the shops […]"

Etymology

From Middle English smertly; equivalent to smart + -ly.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: smertly

Inflected Forms

more smartly (comparative) most smartly (superlative)

Synonyms

modishly sprucely vigorously cleverly

Rhymes With

partly hartley bartley tartly artley

Questions

How do you pronounce smartly?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsmɑː(ɹ)tli/.
What does smartly mean?: With a fine or fashionable appearance.
Where does smartly come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce smartly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “smartly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsmɑː(ɹ)tli/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “smartly”.
Repeat and practice — Say “smartly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.