soundly

English

Etymology

From Middle English soundly, soundely, from Old English ġesundlīċe (“safely, prosperously, gladly”), equivalent to sound +‎ -ly. Originally meaning "safely", the present sense came in the 16^th century.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊnd.lɪ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

soundly (comparative more soundly, superlative most soundly)

1. In a thorough manner; in manner free of defect or deficiency.

   He was soundly thrashed by the semi-professional boxer.

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 16:

     Pro. Let them be hunted ſoundly : At this houre / Lies at my mercy all mine enemies : […]

   • 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter IV, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 42–43:

     Mrs. Reed soon rallied her spirits: she shook me most soundly, she boxed both my ears, and then left me without a word.

   • 1899, William George Aston, A History of Japanese Literature, page 272:

     The wedding company, fatigued with their enjoyment of the previous night, slept soundly late into the next morning.

   • 1911, L. D. Biagi, The Centaurians, Ch. I:

     My gold carried little weight with him, he was sincerely fond of me and consequently rated me soundly for all indiscretions, declaring I would regret wasting the best years of my life and deadening my vast talents […]

Synonyms

• completely, deeply, firmly, fully, perfectly, roundly, thoroughly, totally

Translations

in a thorough manner

• Armenian: հիմնովին (hy) (himnovin), միանգամայն (hy) (miangamayn), լիովին (hy) (liovin)
• Dutch: grondig (nl)
• Finnish: perusteellisesti (fi), kunnolla (fi)
• French: fortement (fr), solidement (fr)
• German: gründlich (de), ordentlich (de)
• Greek: γερά (el) (gerá)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: grundig (no)

  Nynorsk: grundig

• Russian: обоснованно (ru) (obosnovanno)
• Spanish: profundo (es)
• Swedish: djupt (sv), grundligt (sv)

Further reading

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “soundly”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.