waterily
|wa-ter-i-ly|
🇺🇸
/ˈwɔtərɪli/
🇬🇧
/ˈwɔːtərɪli/
in the manner of water; thin/weak
Etymology
'waterily' originates from English, specifically the adjective 'watery' plus the adverbial suffix '-ly', where 'watery' comes from the noun 'water' meaning 'water' and '-ly' meant 'in the manner of'.
'waterily' changed from the Middle English adjective 'watery' (formed from Old English 'wæter' meaning 'water') with the addition of the suffix '-ly' to create the adverbial form; the noun 'water' itself comes from Old English 'wæter' (from Proto-Germanic '*watōr').
Initially it meant 'in the manner of water' (literal sense), but over time it also acquired the figurative sense of 'weakly' or 'insipidly'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adverb 1
in a watery manner; thinly or consisting mostly of water.
The soup tasted waterily after being diluted with too much stock.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adverb 2
in a feeble or lacking-in-strength way; weakly or insipidly (figurative).
He smiled waterily, as if he had no real enthusiasm for the plan.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/30 08:43