Words with the suffix -ly
-ly means “in a specified manner; having the qualities of”, from Old English -lice (adverb), -lic (adjective). It makes a word into an adverb or adjective.
16 examples of the suffix -ly
- quicklyquick + -lyin a fast manner
- slowlyslow + -lyin a slow manner
- kindlykind + -lyin a kind manner
- loudlyloud + -lyin a loud manner
- friendlyfriend + -lyhaving the qualities of a friend
- lovelylove + -lyhaving the qualities of love
- nearlynear + -lyin a near manner; almost
- likelylike + -lyhaving the qualities of likelihood
- livelylive + -lyhaving the qualities of life
- bravelybrave + -lyin a brave manner
- ghostlyghost + -lyhaving the qualities of a ghost
- scholarlyscholar + -lyhaving the qualities of a scholar
- leisurelyleisure + -lyin a relaxed, unhurried manner
- heavenlyheaven + -lyhaving the qualities of heaven
- earthlyearth + -lyhaving the qualities of earth
Also: softly
How -ly works
The suffix '-ly' typically converts adjectives into adverbs (quick → quickly) or nouns into adjectives meaning 'having the qualities of' (friend → friendly); when the base ends in a consonant plus 'le', the 'le' is often dropped before adding '-ly' (gentle → gently), and bases ending in 'y' change to 'i' before '-ly' (happy → happily). No consonant assimilation variants apply to '-ly' itself.
Watch out: Words like 'bully,' 'folly,' 'rally,' and 'melancholy' look as though they end in '-ly' but the 'ly' is part of the root, not the adverb or adjective suffix.
To see suffixes combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.
Other common suffixes
- -able · capable of
- -ible · capable of
- -tion · act
- -ness · state
- -er · one who performs an action
- -ment · result
- -ful · full of
- -less · without
- -ous · having the quality of
- -ity · state
- -ism · doctrine
- -ist · one who practices or believes in
- -ize · to make or cause to become
- -al · of
- -ance · action
- -ence · action
- -ive · tending to
- -ship · state
Questions people ask
What does the suffix -ly mean?
-ly means “in a specified manner; having the qualities of”. It comes from Old English -lice (adverb), -lic (adjective). The suffix '-ly' typically converts adjectives into adverbs (quick → quickly) or nouns into adjectives meaning 'having the qualities of' (friend → friendly); when the base ends in a consonant plus 'le', the 'le' is often dropped before adding '-ly' (gentle → gently), and bases ending in 'y' change to 'i' before '-ly' (happy → happily). No consonant assimilation variants apply to '-ly' itself.
What are some examples of words with the suffix -ly?
quickly, slowly, kindly, loudly, friendly, lovely, nearly, likely. The full list of 16 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.
Which words look like they have the suffix -ly but don’t?
Words like 'bully,' 'folly,' 'rally,' and 'melancholy' look as though they end in '-ly' but the 'ly' is part of the root, not the adverb or adjective suffix.
What is a suffix?
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word. It often changes the part of speech: -ness turns the adjective kind into the noun kindness, and -ly turns quick into the adverb quickly.