inanimately

adverb

as in sluggishly

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inanimately
  1. sluggishly
  2. lazily
  3. dully
  4. tardily
  5. idly
  6. halfheartedly
Adverb
  • Current leaks through transistors that should be switched off, and electrons move more sluggishly through channels only a few atoms thick.
    — Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The fish looks straight at me, flopping sluggishly from side to side.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of sluggishly
Adverb
  • The stranger approached the store owner, a stout man waving a rattan fan lazily at his face while sitting at the till.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Demis Hassabis has made the same point more bluntly, cautioning that using AI lazily can actually make people worse at critical thinking.
    — Ted Ladd, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of lazily
Adverb
  • Yikes, this finale fell as flat and dully as Janet’s solo cup hit Danny’s head.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 30 July 2026
  • His audiences stare back at him, dully hostile.
    — Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 14 May 2026
Definition of dully
Adverb
  • While Chanel, which last season shut out guests who arrived a couple of minutes late, started its show — gasp — tardily.
    — THOMAS ADAMSON, ajc, 7 Mar. 2023
Definition of tardily
Adverb
  • Calvo, meanwhile, sits at a desk in his hotel room, gazing into the camera lens placidly while idly sketching on a sheet of paper.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Now is the time for advocacy, and no one can afford to sit idly by.
    — Taryn Palumbo, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of idly
Adverb
  • When Oscar halfheartedly tries to throw a ball into one of the set’s prop cubes and improbably makes the shot, the whole set goes joyously nuts, with the performers leaping up to embrace him and cavort around him.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The show’s interests are theoretically in a nuclear family gradually coming back together, though even that theme is halfheartedly pursued.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 16 July 2026
Definition of halfheartedly
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

inanimate
inanimately
inanities
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Cite this Entry

“Inanimately.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inanimately. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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