closely

English

Etymology

close +‎ -ly

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈkləʊsliː/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Adverb

closely (comparative closelier or more closely, superlative closeliest or most closely)

  1. In a close manner.
    Finnish and Estonian are closely related languages.
    The borderline between East and West Berlin was very closely guarded.
    The chairs are too closely spaced; could you move them apart?
    • 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:
      “King Homer” follows the story of King Kong closely, with Mr. Burns taking the freakishly over-sized King Homer from his native Africa, where he lives proud as a simian god, to the United States, where he is an initially impressive but ultimately rather limited Broadway attraction.
  2. (obsolete) secretly; privately
    • Edmund Spenser
      That nought she did but wayle, and often steepe / Her dainty couch with tears which closely she did weepe.

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.