Meaning

4 senses
  1. In a clean way, neatly.

  2. Not causing a mess or unnecessary damage.

    We agreed to break off our relationship cleanly.

    Fortunately, the bullet passed cleanly through your shoulder.

  3. Innocently; without stain.

  4. Adroitly; dexterously

More definitions
  • in a manner that minimizes dirt and pollution
  • smoothly and without difficulty; precisely and deftly

Examples

5 sentences
  1. I resolved to break up with her cleanly.

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  2. The casting came cleanly out of its mold.

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  3. It is impossible for me to cleanly crack an egg with both hands.

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  4. Please vote cleanly.

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  5. How do you take off the shell of a boiled egg cleanly? Is there some sort of trick?

    deWie kann man ein gekochtes Ei sauber pellen? Gibt es da irgendeinen Trick?

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Translations

2 languages

Origin

From Middle English clenly, clenli, clenliche, from Old English clǣnlīċe (“cleanly”), equi

From Middle English clenly, clenli, clenliche, from Old English clǣnlīċe (“cleanly”), equivalent to clean + -ly.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

cleanlier/more cleanly, cleanliest/most cleanly
Comparativecleanlier / more cleanly Lesson
Superlativecleanliest / most cleanly

regular

Synonyms

10 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • smoothly and without difficulty; precisely and deftly:flawlessly

Word family

1 related words
Relatedclean

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
cleanly — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto