How to Use lightly in a Sentence
lightly
adverb
- She moved lightly across the room.
- The judge let her off lightly with a short sentence.
- He talks lightly about the problems he's been having at work.
- Our troops were armed too lightly to take on the heavily armed invaders.
- Considering the harm he did, he's gotten off lightly with only a warning.
- These vegetables can be eaten either raw or lightly cooked.
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Lift the legs to the right up and over the medicine ball to tap the heels lightly on the other side.
—
Jennifer Nied,
Women's Health,
30 Aug. 2023
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Let the soup sit in the pot to melt the cheese and lightly cook the asparagus, about 1 minute.
—
Ronna Welsh,
Washington Post,
24 May 2023
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The plane went down in a lightly wooded area close to a field.
—
Aliza Chasan,
CBS News,
6 June 2023
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Add the achiote and spices and toast lightly, about 30 seconds.
—
Kate Bradshaw,
The Mercury News,
2 Feb. 2024
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The fish is lightly battered in the same cornmeal that coats the frickles and okra.
—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Oct. 2023
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West agrees that no one at The Crown is taking the subject of the princess' death lightly.
—
Clark Collis,
EW.com,
18 Oct. 2022
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But the whole point of a dark sky area is to tread lightly, and bears like peace and quiet, too.
—
Neal Rubin,
Detroit Free Press,
3 July 2022
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Now square up the pieces of the frame and lightly tack-weld them together.
—
Mike Allen,
Popular Mechanics,
24 Mar. 2023
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Later in the show, the rocker walked off the stage and lightly punched the concertgoer in the face.
—
Sadie Bell,
Peoplemag,
11 Oct. 2023
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Place under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese and lightly brown.
—
Susan Selasky,
Detroit Free Press,
8 Mar. 2024
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Flip the crepes once or twice more until lightly browned and cooked through.
—
G. Daniela Galarza,
Washington Post,
27 Oct. 2022
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Even though the Jaguars have lost six of their last seven games, the Ravens shouldn’t take this game lightly.
—
Baltimore Sun Staff,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Nov. 2022
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Put one of the cicadas on top of each cookie and lightly press down.
—
Li Cohen,
CBS News,
8 May 2024
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Line a sheet-pan with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray or oil.
—
Kim Sunée,
Anchorage Daily News,
30 June 2023
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The point is, the Horned Frogs should not take their opponent lightly.
—
Dallas News,
23 Nov. 2022
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If the Hawks and Sixers do meet again in the playoffs, the Sixers can't take them lightly.
—
Bryan Toporek,
Forbes,
9 Apr. 2022
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Add a handful of the greens and season lightly with salt and pepper.
—
Ali Slagle,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Nov. 2023
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To get back for the sixth time in eight years — and after all the team went through — is not to be taken lightly.
—
Sporting Green Staff,
San Francisco Chronicle,
31 May 2022
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Still, placing a non-Afghan in the central role was not a choice made lightly.
—
New York Times,
1 July 2022
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To prepare your basil for this salad, lightly rinse the leaves and pat them dry.
—
Robin Miller,
The Arizona Republic,
9 May 2024
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Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough.
—
Bhg Test Kitchen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Feb. 2024
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The phrase is not taken lightly and is not bandied about blithely.
—
Matt Ford,
The New Republic,
6 Oct. 2022
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Place both halves flesh-side up on a lined pan and brush the flesh lightly with olive oil (or use an olive oil spray) to coat.
—
Lauren O'Connor, Ms,
Health,
5 Feb. 2025
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Plant the onion seedlings approximately ½ inch deep so that the forming bulbs and roots are barely covered with soil, and lightly tamp down the soil to keep the onion seedlings upright.
—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Feb. 2025
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lightly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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