Basic Details
Word: Softly
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: In a quiet or gentle way.
Synonyms: gently, quietly, lightly, tenderly
Antonyms: loudly, roughly, harshly
How to Spell Softly
Syllables: soft - ly
Tricky part: The t is hard to hear before the l, so many students write sofly. Keep the whole word soft.
Watch out for: sofly, softley, softlly
Memory tip: Say soft on its own and you hear the t clearly. Keep that t when ly goes on, even though it almost vanishes in softly.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The teacher spoke softly to the crying child.
Example 2: Close the door softly; the baby has just fallen asleep.
Example 3: A breeze blew softly through the coconut palms.
Fun Fact
The piano's full name, pianoforte, comes from Italian words for soft and loud, because it can play both, which the older harpsichord could not.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Which word is a synonym of softly in this sentence?
The nurse spoke softly to the frightened puppy at the animal shelter.
a) harshly
b) quickly
c) gently
d) loudly
Show answer
c) gently. Speaking softly to a scared animal means speaking gently; harshly and loudly would frighten it more.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. harshley 2. softly 3. loudley 4. abruptely
a) with a lot of noise
b) in a cruel or severe way
c) suddenly and without warning
d) in a quiet, gentle way
Show answer
d) in a quiet, gentle way. Harshly, abruptly and loudly all join ly straight on with no extra e, so only softly is right.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The rain fell sofly on the tin roof of our hostel, and soon all the tired campers were fast asleep.
a) tired
b) hostel
c) sofly
d) asleep
Show answer
c) sofly. The t of soft has been left out; it is barely heard in speech but must be written.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A softly spoken person ____.
a) talks very fast and loudly
b) talks in a calm, quiet voice
c) never says a single word
d) shouts at everyone nearby
Show answer
b) talks in a calm, quiet voice
2. Which word fits best: The librarian asked us to talk ____.
a) roughly
b) loudly
c) softly
d) heavily
Show answer
c) softly
