docilely

D2O1C3I1L1E1L1Y4
US/ˈdɑ.səl.li/US/ˈdɑ.saɪl.li/US/ˈdɑ.sə.li/

adverb

Submissively or obediently.

OriginEnglish docile ← Middle English docyle ← Middle French docile →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

adverbdocilely (comparative more docilely, superlative most docilely)

comparative more docilely · superlative most docilely

  1. Submissively or obediently.

    My uncle returns to his mess of papers, dismissing us; and I go docilely back to my sewing.

    2002, Sarah Waters, chapter 7, in Fingersmith, London: Virago, →ISBN, part 2, page 194

Origin

  1. Latindocilis
  2. Middle Frenchdocile
  3. Middle Englishdocyle
  4. Englishdocile
  5. Englishdocilely

From docile + -ly.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

docilely. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/docilely

MLA

“docilely.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/docilely. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “docilely,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/docilely.

Source: docilely on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.