accordingly

English

Etymology

From Middle English acordingli, equivalent to according +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ə.ˈkɔɹ.dɪŋ.li/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈkɔː(ɹ).dɪŋ.li/

• Audio (US)

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Adverb

accordingly (comparative more accordingly, superlative most accordingly)

1. (manner) Agreeably; correspondingly; suitably

   He was absent when I called, and I accordingly left my card.

   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     We may the number of ships behold, and so proceed accordingly.

   • 1895, H. G. Wells, chapter X, in The Time Machine:

     Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped the wear of time for immemorial years was a strange, and for me, a most fortunate thing. Yet oddly enough I found here a far more unlikely substance, and that was camphor. I found it in a sealed jar, that, by chance, I supposed had been really hermetically sealed. I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable.

   • 1987, Kerry Cue, Hang On To Your Horses Doovers, page 5:

     From the Marvel Mixmaster to the Miracle Microwave, every time a new-fangled gadget has lobbed into the Aussie kitchen, Aussie mums have changed their cooking styles accordingly.

2. (conjunctive) In natural sequence; consequently; so.

   Our preparations were all finished. Accordingly, we set sail.

   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, , →OCLC, part I, page 200:

     Accordingly a young chap wearing his hat over the left eyebrow, some clerk I suppose, - there must have been clerks in the business, though the house was as still as a house in a city of the dead, - came from somewhere up-stairs, and led me forth.

Usage notes

• In contrast to consequently, which tends to imply a closer, logical or causal connection, accordingly generally marks the connection as one of simple accordance or congruity, leading naturally to the result that followed.

Synonyms

• consequently, therefore, wherefore, hence, so

Translations

Further reading

• “accordingly”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “accordingly”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “accordingly”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.