List of Adverbs

Adverbs describe how, when, where, or to what extent an action is performed. The table below lists common adverbs along with their meanings and example sentences to show how they are used in context.

Adverb	Meaning	Example
absolutely	completely; definitely	I absolutely loved the book.
afterward	at a later time	We went for ice cream afterward.
afterwards	later; after that	We cleaned up afterwards.
already	before now	I have already finished.
aloud	out loud	Please read the poem aloud.
also	in addition	She also plays violin.
always	every time	She always says hello.
angrily	in an angry way	She spoke angrily after the foul.
anymore	no longer (negatives)	I don’t live there anymore.
anywhere	in any place	You can sit anywhere.
apart	separately; not together	They sat apart in class.
away	at a distance	The cat ran away.
badly	in a poor way	He played badly today.
barely	only just	He could barely lift the box.
barefoot	without shoes	He walked barefoot on the sand.
beforehand	earlier; in advance	Pack your bag beforehand.
best	in the best way	He tried his best.
better	in a better way	She did better this time.
boldly	without fear	She boldly tried the high dive.
bravely	with courage	The firefighter acted bravely.
briefly	for a short time	We spoke briefly after class.
busily	in a busy way	The ants worked busily.
calmly	without worry	He calmly answered the question.
carefully	with care	He carefully carried the glass.
certainly	for sure	I will certainly help.
cheerfully	in a happy way	He greeted us cheerfully.
clearly	easy to understand	She spoke clearly.
closer	more close	Move closer to the board.
coldly	without warmth; unfriendly	He answered coldly.
completely	fully; totally	The room is completely dark.
curiously	in a wondering way	She curiously peered inside.
daily	each day	She practices piano daily.
darkly	with little light; gloomily	Clouds gathered darkly.
definitely	without doubt	He will definitely come.
down	toward a lower place	He slid down the slide.
downstairs	to/on a lower floor	Grandma is downstairs.
downhill	toward the bottom of a hill	The ball rolled downhill.
downward	toward the bottom	The leaf floated downward.
downstream	with the flow	The leaf floated downstream.
early	before the usual time	She woke up early.
earlier	before an earlier time	Arrive earlier tomorrow.
easily	without effort	She solved the puzzle easily.
either	in addition (negative)	I don’t like spinach either.
eagerly	with excitement	They eagerly opened the gifts.
entirely	completely	She is entirely right.
exactly	in a precise way	The pieces fit exactly.
fast	quickly	Cheetahs run fast.
farther	at a greater distance	Throw the ball farther.
farthest	at the greatest distance	He kicked the farthest.
far	at a great distance	The mountain is far away.
firmly	in a strong way	Hold the ladder firmly.
first	before all others	First, wash your hands.
forward	toward the front	Step forward to the line.
frankly	in a direct way	Frankly, that was not kind.
frequently	many times; often	We frequently visit grandma.
further	to a greater distance	Walk further down the path.
gently	softly; with care	Please close the door gently.
generally	in most cases	Cats generally like to nap.
gracefully	in a smooth, elegant way	The dancer moved gracefully.
happily	with happiness	They played happily in the park.
hard	with effort; intensely	He worked hard on the project.
harder	with more effort	Try harder next time.
hardest	with the most effort	She trained hardest of all.
hardly	almost not	I can hardly hear you.
here	in this place	Come here, please.
hereby	by this statement	I hereby promise to help.
highly	to a high degree	She is highly skilled.
honestly	in an honest way	Honestly, I don’t know.
however	but; in contrast	I wanted to go; however, I was sick.
however	in whatever way	Do it however you prefer.
indoors	inside a building	We played indoors when it rained.
in	inside; into	Come in and sit down.
instead	in place of	We stayed home instead.
kindly	in a kind way	She spoke kindly to him.
late	after the usual time	He arrived late to school.
latest	most recent	What’s the latest news?
left	to the left side	Turn left at the corner.
likely	with good chance	She will likely win.
loudly	with lots of noise	The crowd cheered loudly.
luckily	by good luck	Luckily, we found the keys.
maybe	it might be so	Maybe we can play outside.
meanwhile	at the same time	Meanwhile, I’ll wash the dishes.
messily	in a messy way	He painted messily on the paper.
monthly	every month	The bill arrives monthly.
more	to a greater degree	It’s even more exciting now.
moreover	also; besides	The book is fun; moreover, it teaches a lesson.
near	close by	Stand near the teacher.
nearby	not far away	There is a park nearby.
nearer	more near	Come nearer to see.
neatly	in a tidy way	She neatly wrote her name.
never	at no time	He never lies.
nevertheless	in spite of that	It was hard; nevertheless, we tried.
normally	in the usual way	He normally walks to school.
now	at this moment	Please start your work now.
nowadays	in the present time	Nowadays, many people use tablets.
obviously	easy to notice	Obviously, the box is heavy.
occasionally	once in a while	We occasionally eat out.
often	many times	She often reads at night.
only	and no other	I only want water.
openly	in a clear way	She openly shared her idea.
otherwise	if not; or else	Wear a coat, otherwise you’ll be cold.
outdoors	outside a building	They ate outdoors at the picnic.
out	to the outside	Please take the trash out.
outside	not inside; outdoors	They played outside.
partly	not completely	The sky is partly cloudy.
perhaps	maybe	Perhaps we can go later.
politely	in a polite way	He politely said, “Thank you.”
possibly	maybe; could happen	We could possibly stay longer.
precisely	very exactly	Measure precisely to get it right.
probably	likely to happen	It will probably rain.
quickly	in a fast way	She ran quickly to the bus.
quietly	without making noise	Please walk quietly in the library.
quite	fairly; very	The movie was quite good.
rarely	hardly ever	She rarely watches TV.
rather	somewhat; quite	It’s rather chilly outside.
really	very; actually	That is really funny.
regularly	at steady times	She exercises regularly.
right	to the right side	Look right before crossing.
roughly	about; not exact	There were roughly 20 kids.
safely	without danger	Cross the street safely.
sadly	in a sad way	He sadly waved goodbye.
secretly	in a secret way	They secretly planned a party.
seldom	not often	We seldom see snow here.
seriously	in a serious way	Seriously, finish your work.
silently	without sound	They silently watched the stars.
simply	in an easy way; only	Simply press the red button.
slowly	in a slow way	The turtle moved slowly.
smoothly	without bumps/difficulty	The car drove smoothly.
so	to a great degree	I am so tired today.
sometimes	at times; not always	He sometimes forgets his keys.
soon	in a short time	Dinner will be ready soon.
somewhere	in an unknown place	I left my pen somewhere.
straight	in a straight line	Go straight to the office.
suddenly	quickly and without warning	Suddenly, the lights went out.
surely	certainly; of course	Surely you remember me.
thankfully	with thanks; luckily	Thankfully, no one was hurt.
then	at that time; next	Finish this, then take a break.
therefore	for that reason	It rained; therefore, we stayed inside.
there	in that place	Put the book there.
thereby	by that action	He forgot his bag, thereby missing the bus.
thrice	three times (old-fashioned)	He knocked thrice on the door.
tightly	firmly; not loosely	Tie your laces tightly.
today	this day	We have art today.
together	with each other; at once	We worked together on the project.
totally	completely	I totally agree with you.
truly	really; honestly	I truly appreciate your help.
truthfully	honestly	Answer the question truthfully.
twice	two times	She called me twice.
unfortunately	by bad luck	Unfortunately, the game was canceled.
up	toward a higher place	Climb up carefully.
uphill	toward the top of a hill	We hiked uphill.
upstairs	to/on a higher floor	The bathroom is upstairs.
upstream	against the flow	Salmon swim upstream.
usually	most of the time	We usually eat at six.
very	to a great degree	The soup is very hot.
well	in a good way	She sings well.
whenever	at any time that	Come whenever you’re ready.
where	in what place (question)	Where did you put it?
wherever	in any place that	Sit wherever you like.
while	during the time that	Stay quiet while I read.
why	for what reason (question)	Why are you late?
yesterday	the day before today	We played chess yesterday.
yet	up to now (Q/negatives)	Has the rain stopped yet?