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freely¹

  • /ˈfɹiːli/ UK
  • /ˈfɹili/ US

Rhymes with -iːli

Where it comes from

From Middle English frely, freelich, from Old English frēolīc (“free, freeborn, glorious, stately, magnificent, noble, beautiful, charming”), equivalent to free + -ly. Compare Middle Low German vrilik, vrigelik (“free”), Middle High German vrīlich (“free”).

adjective freelier · more freely · freeliest · most freely · frely

  1. Free; frank.
  2. Generous; noble; excellent; beautiful; lovely.

freely²

  • /ˈfɹiːli/ UK
  • /ˈfɹili/ US

Rhymes with -iːli

Where it comes from

From Middle English frely, freliche, from Old English frēolīċe (“freely, readily, as a festival”), equivalent to free + -ly. Compare Dutch vrijelijk (“freely”), German freilich (“certainly, of course”).

adverb freelier · more freely · freeliest · most freely

  1. In a free manner. Wine was flowing freely.
  2. Without interference or restriction. talk freely
  3. Of one's own free will. I will freely help you.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: easily, spontaneously, frankly, liberty, freedom, gratuitously, libre, openly, independently, willingly, casually, voluntary, voluntarily, fairly, publicly, arbitrarily

Translations

Every language

adv 1. in a free manner

Españollibremente
Portuguêslivremente
Françaislibrement
Deutschfrei
Italianoliberamente
Ελληνικάελεύθερα eléfthera
Русскийсвобо́дно svobódno, во́льно vólʹno

adv 2. without interference or restriction

Española sus anchas, a sus anchos
Ελληνικάελεύθερα eléfthera

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Cite this
MLA

"freely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/freely. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

freely. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/freely

Chicago

"freely." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/freely.

BibTeX
@misc{freely_2026,
  title = {freely},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/freely},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}