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ruly

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ruly¹

  • /ˈɹuːli/

Rhymes with -uːli

Where it comes from

From Middle English rewly, ruly, rewely, reweliche, from Old English hrēowlīċ (“grievous, pitiful, sad, wretched, cruel”), equivalent to rue + -ly.

adjective rulier · more ruly · ruliest · most ruly

  1. obsolete Pitiable; miserable.

ruly²

  • /ˈɹuːli/

Rhymes with -uːli

Where it comes from

From Middle English rewly, reoly, reowliche, from Old English hrēowlīċe (“cruelly”), equivalent to rue + -ly.

adverb rulier · more ruly · ruliest · most ruly

  1. obsolete Pitiably; miserably.

ruly³

  • /ˈɹuːli/

Rhymes with -uːli

Where it comes from

Back-formation from unruly, or perhaps a continuation of Middle English rewly, ruly, reuli (“subject to a religious rule, regular”), equivalent to rule + -ly, rule + -y; or perhaps from Old French rulé, reulé, rieulé (“ruled”), past participle of rieuler (“to rule”). More at rule.

adjective rulier · ruliest

  1. rare Neat and orderly. What is certain is that everything they see is strange: the lifeless neatness of the courtyard, the straightness of the paths, the ruly gang of labourers in their dull uniforms and with their ageless, polished faces.

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{ruly_2026,
  title = {ruly},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ruly},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}