gracefullyadv.
/ˈɡreɪsfᵿli/, /ˈɡreɪsfl̩i/, U.S. /ˈɡreɪsfəli/ In a graceful manner, with grace, ease, or poise; becomingly, elegantly.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > attractiveness > [adverb]
likinglya1387
graciouslyc1400
prettilyc1450
alluringly1561
gracefully1583
attractively1604
takingly1607
charmingly1611
enchantinglya1616
winningly1663
engagingly1694
winsomely17..
enticingly1720
attractingly1753
prepossessingly1794
sweetly1840
temptingly1878
fetchingly1889
the mind > attention and judgement > good taste > refinement > elegance > [adverb] > gracefully
graciouslyc1400
gracefully1583
nymphlike1611
willowily1932
1583 R. Greene Mamillia f. 26v He receiuing [the present] gracefullye, wished the Page to giue it to his daughter.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. vii. sig. S2v Not Musidorus, no nor any man liuing..could..deliuer that strength more nimbly, or become the deliuery more gracefully.
1605 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848) (modernized text) I. 42 The bridegroom carried himself as gravely and gracefully as if he were of his father's age.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 66 Panes of Oister-shells for their Windows (which as they are cut in Squares, and polished, look gracefully enough).
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. i. 26 He..had the habit of Speaking very gracefully, and pertinently.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 102. ¶7 This teaches a Lady to quit her Fan gracefully when she throws it aside.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxx. 293 Sticking his other arm gracefully a-kimbo.
1858 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) III. xiii. 129 He was taking precautions..to enable him to yield gracefully to necessity should necessity arise.
1901 M. C. Dickerson Moths & Butterflies iii. 280 The rainbow-colored fairy shrimps gliding slowly and gracefully through the icy waters of some March pool.
1941 ‘N. Blake’ Case of Abominable Snowman xiv. 149 She was not a woman who wept gracefully: she gulped and sniffled peevishly, as if resenting the weakness that made her do it.
1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker iv. xx. 368 One ancient biddy..refused to admit she was over retirement age and gracefully accept a pension.
2008 N. Jordan To pleasure Lady viii. 160 The girls first rehearsed entering the ballroom gracefully, pausing to be announced by the butler.
Phrases
to grow old (also age) gracefully: to accept or embrace the changes caused by ageing; to present or conduct oneself in an elegant or dignified manner as one grows older. Also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1799 H. More Strictures Mod. Syst. Female Educ. I. 59 Since then there is a season when the youthful must cease to be young, and the beautiful to excite admiration; to grow old gracefully is perhaps one of the rarest and most valuable arts which can be taught to woman.
1835 Mrs. O'Neill Bondman 104 A woman who knew not what it was to grow old gracefully, and who haunted youthful pleasures with a wrinkled brow, a flaxen wig, and a painted cheek.
1900 F. Bullock Old Town on River 1 Others of these frontier citadels had vitality enough to live, to thrive, and eventually to grow old gracefully.
1944 San Antonio (Texas) Light 13 Feb. 39/7 Broadway actresses who refuse to age gracefully, hoping to continue to snare glamour girl roles.
2013 Irish Independent (Nexis) 19 Apr. 37 She has no intention of growing old gracefully and plans to wear revealing clothes and lashings of makeup till the very end.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1583