Word library
Synonyms for lightly
Synonyms for lightly: softly, thinly and sparingly. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.
The 3 synonyms for lightly
Interchangeable with lightly, one per sense
Audited under lightly's own entry, so the meaning quoted is the one lightly carries in that sense.
- softlyadverb, in the sense "with little weight or force"
- thinlyadverb, in the sense "in a small quantity or extent"
Recorded from the other side of the pair
These entries were written under the other word and name lightly as the true synonym, so the sense quoted is theirs.
- sparinglysparingly is an adverb in the sense "in a limited or restrained amount"
The first group is filed under lightly's own senses. The second reaches lightly from the partner word's entry, so the sense quoted beside it is that word's.
with little weight or force
She kissed him lightly on the forehead.
The true synonym
softly
Same sentence, swapped: She kissed him softly on the forehead.
Close but different
These three are the other tiles the game puts on screen for this sense, and the note above says why the closest of them fails. None is a synonym for lightly in the sentence quoted.
- thinly
- gladly
- smoothly
in a small quantity or extent
Apply paint lightly.
The true synonym
thinly
Same sentence, swapped: Apply paint thinly.
Close but different
The game offers these three alongside the answer. They are close enough to tempt and wrong enough to be wrong, which is the whole design.
- thickly
- gladly
- smoothly
Where lightly turns up in the game
lightly is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across two difficulty tiers. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in four other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.
The puzzles where lightly is the trap
- freshlyadverb, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is newly, in the sense "very recently created, made, or produced", and lightly is one of the three tiles that lose.
- plentifullyadverb, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is generously, in the sense "in a large or abundant quantity", with lightly sitting one tile away.
- happilyadverb, Tier 3, Ridgeline. The answer there is merrily, in the sense "in a joyous manner", and lightly is on the board beside it.
- relentlesslyadverb, Tier 4, High Camp. The answer there is unremittingly, in the sense "without any lessening or relief", with lightly sitting one tile away.
Play lightly
The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so lightly reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.
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lightly carries no theme tag, so the ring starts at Treeline and widens alphabetically.
A reason under every answer, not just a right answer
Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. lightly carries 1 written reason line, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.