exquisitely

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪkˈskwɪzɪtli/ UK /ɪkˈskwɪzɪtli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
in an extremely beautiful, delicate, or refined way

The cabinet was exquisitely inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in an extremely beautiful,... beautifully delicately elegantly finely superbly gorgeously consummately

Opposites

crudely coarsely clumsily

Word family

Related forms exquisite exquisiteness

Etymology

From exquisite + -ly. Exquisite derives from Latin exquisitus ('carefully sought out, choice'), past participle of exquirere ('to search out'), from ex- ('out') + quaerere ('to seek').

exquisitus Latin quaerere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# exquisitely

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈskwɪzɪtli/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈskwɪzɪtli/

## Meanings
1. in an extremely beautiful, delicate, or refined way

## Examples
- The cabinet was exquisitely inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

## Synonyms
- beautifully
- delicately
- elegantly
- finely
- superbly
- gorgeously
- consummately

## Antonyms
- crudely
- coarsely
- clumsily

## Related Forms
- exquisite
- exquisiteness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: exquisitus
- Root: quaerere

## Etymology
From exquisite + -ly. Exquisite derives from Latin exquisitus ('carefully sought out, choice'), past participle of exquirere ('to search out'), from ex- ('out') + quaerere ('to seek').

## AI Etymology
Exquisitely comes from exquisite + -ly. Exquisite derives from Latin exquisitus ('carefully sought out, choice'), past participle of exquirere ('to search out'), from ex- ('out') + quaerere ('to seek'). Morphologically, the account is both compositional and suffixal: ex- and -ly marks the visible structure by which the older base becomes the modern form. In present use, it is used as an adverb meaning "in an extremely beautiful, delicate, or refined way", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as exquisite and exquisiteness, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin exquisitus and Latin quaerere, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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