What does boldly mean?
Word: Boldly
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: Boldly means in a brave and confident way, without showing fear.
Synonyms: bravely, daringly, fearlessly, confidently
Antonyms: shyly, nervously
How do you spell boldly?
Syllables: bold - ly
Tricky part: The d is easy to drop in quick speech, so students write bolly, or slip it to the wrong place and write bodly.
Watch out for: bodly, bolly, bolldly
Memory tip: A bold knight never drops his sword, and boldly never drops its d.
Boldly in a sentence
Example 1: Meera boldly raised her hand to answer the question nobody else would try.
Example 2: The apprentice boldly told the chef that the soup needed more salt.
Example 3: The young climber boldly took the harder route up the rock face.
Fun Fact
The opening words of the 1966 TV series Star Trek promised 'to boldly go where no man has gone before'. Grammar books still quote it as a famous split infinitive.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. adventurous 2. courageous 3. defiant 4. bouldly
a) showing no fear of danger or pain
b) willing to try new or exciting things
c) in a brave and confident way
d) openly refusing to obey
Show answer
c) in a brave and confident way. Courageous, adventurous and defiant are all spelt correctly; bouldly has a u that boldly does not need.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to boldly as used in the sentence:
The small boy stepped forward and boldly asked the minister why the park had no swings.
a) gallantly
b) timidly
c) courageously
d) heroically
Show answer
b) timidly. Timidly means shyly and fearfully, the reverse of the way the boy questioned the minister.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence contains a jumbled word. Choose the word it hides:
The captain ldyolb led her team out onto the packed football ground.
a) blindly
b) bodily
c) boldly
d) doubly
Show answer
c) boldly. Bodily and blindly both need an i and doubly needs a u, none of which the jumble has.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
boldley
a) d
b) e
c) l
d) y
Show answer
b) e. Boldly needs no e before the y; drop it and the word is right.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a leader acts boldly, she ____.
a) avoids every risk she can
b) makes a brave choice and acts on it
c) keeps her plans secret from all
d) waits for others to decide for her
Show answer
b) makes a brave choice and acts on it
2. Which sentence uses boldly correctly?
a) Arjun boldly offered to give the welcome speech in front of the whole school.
b) The nervous rabbit boldly trembled in the corner of its hutch.
c) Rina boldly forgot her lunch box on the kitchen table again.
d) The shy new girl boldly hid behind the curtain until class ended.
Show answer
a) Arjun boldly offered to give the welcome speech in front of the whole school.
