askingly

comparative more askingly · superlative most askingly

1. In an asking manner; so as to ask.

   How askingly It’s footsteps t’ward me bend? It seems to say, “And have I then one Friend?”

   1796, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “To a Young Ass”, in Poems on Various Subjects, London: G.G. and J. Robinsons, page 92

   3 more examples

   “I don’t know whether this is something your wife ever knew about or not?” he began askingly.

   1890, William Dean Howells, The Shadow of a Dream, New York: Harper, Part 2, Chapter 2, p. 87

   Aspiration is looking askingly; to reach a desirable result one must look askingly toward that which can fulfill.

   1916, Arthur Adolphus Lindsay, Scientific Man Building Through Thought Force, Detroit: A. A. Lindsay Publishing Company, page 12

   “That can’t possibly be true,” I say. But he looks at me so sadly, askingly, across his desk—

   1983, Joyce Johnson, chapter 9, in Minor Characters, New York: Pocket Books, published 1984, page 150

   Synonyms: questioningly, requestingly