shallowly

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈʃæloʊli/ UK /ˈʃæləʊli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a shallow manner; superficially or to a slight depth

He breathed shallowly, trying not to disturb the sleeping child.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a shallow manner;... superficially slightly cursorily

Opposites

deeply profoundly thoroughly

Word family

Related forms shallow shallowness

Etymology

From shallow plus the adverbial suffix -ly; shallow is of obscure origin, perhaps related to Old English sceald ('shallow') and ultimately to shoal.

sceald Old English

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Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# shallowly

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

## Meanings
1. in a shallow manner; superficially or to a slight depth

## Examples
- He breathed shallowly, trying not to disturb the sleeping child.

## Synonyms
- superficially
- slightly
- cursorily

## Antonyms
- deeply
- profoundly
- thoroughly

## Related Forms
- shallow
- shallowness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sceald

## Etymology
From shallow plus the adverbial suffix -ly; shallow is of obscure origin, perhaps related to Old English sceald ('shallow') and ultimately to shoal.

## AI Etymology
Shallowly comes from shallow plus the adverbial suffix -ly; shallow is of obscure origin, perhaps related to Old English sceald ('shallow') and ultimately to shoal. The historical chain includes Old English sceald. Older glosses in the chain include "shallow", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, shallowly is best read as suffixal formation and uncertain formation, yielding an English adverb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adverb, with the sense "in a shallow manner; superficially or to a slight depth". related forms include shallow and shallowness. The result is an English adverb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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shallowly

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