Cavernously
adv ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 In a cavernous manner; like a cavern.
"The lurid unearthly glow still hovered in the shadowy chamber, lighting ghostlily the dead face of Thugra Khotan, which seemed to grin mirthlessly and cavernously at them."
- 2 In a cavernous manner; sounding deep, hollow, or echoey.
"...the mother of the boy was alarmed beyond measure at Jimmie's curious illness, which caused him to lie on the rug in front of the fire and groan cavernously."
Example
More examples"The intruder did not answer—did not even seem to hear her question. He remained literally as if turned to stone, his eyes burning cavernously in his pale face, on which the upcast light of the lantern at his feet, crossing with that of Valentine’s lamp, cast odd shadows. After a moment, moving like a man half stunned from a fall, he came a little towards her. Then he stopped again, and passed his hand over his eyes."
Etymology
From cavernous + -ly.
More for "cavernously"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.