Freely

//ˈfɹili// adj, adv

adj, adv ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Free; frank.
  2. 2
    Generous; noble; excellent; beautiful; lovely.
Adverb
  1. 1
    In a free manner.

    "Wine was flowing freely."

  2. 2
    Without interference or restriction.

    "talk freely"

  3. 3
    Of one's own free will.

    "I will freely help you."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in a free manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
franklyopenlyabove-boardabundantlyamplybigheartedly

Example

More examples

"You can enter the library freely."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

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”).

Related phrases

breathe freely

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