Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

softly softly

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.47 in modern English

Syllables: soft-ly -soft-ly
IPA

24

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Discreet, low-key, careful.

British usage

adv

In a very tactful, careful, or nondisruptive manner.

British usage

Example Sentences

"Second, this lack of divergence is also the outcome of the EU's softly-softly approach to human rights and democracy in Morocco."
"We couldn't get him back into training before Christmas time because he picked up an injury at the Cheltenham Festival last year and we had to go softly softly."

Etymology

Reduplication of softly. Likely an allusion to softly, softly, catchee monkey or a similar phrase.

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

softly-softly (alternative) softly, softly (alternative)

Synonyms

diplomatic understated gingerly

Questions

What does softly softly mean?: Discreet, low-key, careful.
Where does softly softly come from?: Reduplication of softly. Likely an allusion to softly, softly, catchee monkey or a similar phrase.

How to pronounce softly softly

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “softly softly”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “softly softly” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.