Meanings
comparative more fondly · superlative most fondly
- In a fond manner; affectionately; tenderly.
He looked fondly at the pictures of his high-school friends.
- datedFoolishly.
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" / I fondly ask...
1673, John Milton, When I Consider How My Light Is Spent ('On His Blindness')1 more example
[…] she fondly believes that ten millions of the free people of the Union will allow her and her seceding brethren to open and shut the portals of this mighty region at their pleasure.
1861, The Living Age
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbwith fondness; with love
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishfondly
- Englishfondly
From Middle English fondly, fondely, fonnedli, equivalent to fond + -ly.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Esperanto ame
- amein a fond manner, affectionately
Cite this entry
fondly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fondly
“fondly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fondly. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fondly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fondly.
Source: fondly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.