adv ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb

1. 1
   In a busy manner; actively.

   "But these sweet thoughts do ever refresh my labours,/ Most busil'est when I do it."

Adverb

1. 1
   in a busy manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

energetically

Example

More examples

"Mother was busily cooking; in the meantime, I was just watching TV."

Etymology

From Middle English busily, busiliche, bisili, bisiliche, equivalent to busy + -ly.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.