adv ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb

1. 1
   In a fond manner; affectionately; tenderly.

   "He looked fondly at the pictures of his high-school friends."

2. 2
   Foolishly. dated

   ""Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" / I fondly ask..."

Adverb

1. 1
   with fondness; with love wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

cheerfullyhopefullylovinglylovinglypassionatelytenderly

Example

More examples

"Once again, Mrs. Lee speaks fondly of the past, and it is impossible to stop her."

Etymology

From Middle English fondly, fondely, fonnedli, equivalent to fond + -ly.

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