singly

English

Etymology

From Middle English senglely. Equivalent to single +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪŋ.ɡli/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋɡli

Adverb

singly (not comparable)

1. In a single or unaccompanied manner; without a companion.
   • 1651, Thomas Hobbes, chapter I, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: for Andrew Crooke, , →OCLC:

     Singly, they are every one a representation or appearance of some quality, or other accident of a body without us, which is commonly called an object.

   • 1880 November 12, Lew[is] Wallace, chapter 10, in Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC:

     The cross, reared now above all other objects, and standing singly out against the sky, was greeted with a burst of delight; […]

   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “13: How My Shore Adventure Began”, in Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

     Grey-coloured woods covered a large part of the surface. This even tint was indeed broken up by streaks of yellow sand-break in the lower lands, and by many tall trees of the pine family, out-topping the others—some singly, some in clumps […]

   • 1906, Jack London, chapter XVIII, in Before Adam‎:

     They dragged themselves from the swamp singly, and in twos and threes, more dead than alive, mere perambulating skeletons, until at last there were thirty of us.

2. Individually; particularly; severally.

   to make men singly and personally good

   • 1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 211:

     Ursula saw that now Bella Watson's chance meetings with him had to be strategically and singly planned by Bella, whose wifely attentions to the bereaved man were markedly meaning.

3. Without partners, companions, or associates; single-handed.

   to attack another singly

4. Honestly; sincerely; simply.
5. (obsolete) Singularly; peculiarly.

Synonyms

• (without a companion): alone, solo; see also Thesaurus:solitarily
• (individually): discretely; see also Thesaurus:individually
• (without partners): unassisted; see also Thesaurus:by oneself
• (honestly): truly, truthfully; see also Thesaurus:honestly
• (peculiarly): oddly; see also Thesaurus:strangely

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “singly”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Glynis, lyings, lysing