Meanings
ruly1
comparative rulier · comparative more ruly · superlative ruliest · superlative most ruly
ruly2
comparative rulier · comparative more ruly · superlative ruliest · superlative most ruly
ruly3
comparative rulier · superlative ruliest
- rareNeat and orderly.
1610: John Marston, Histrio-Mastix, page 28 (quarto): [Perpetuana:] Nay Ile be matchlesse for a carckanet,/Whose Pearles and Diamonds plac'd with ruly rocks/Shall circle this faire necke to set it forth [.]
1 more example
What is certain is that everything they see is strange: the lifeless neatness of the courtyard, the straightness of the paths, the ruly gang of labourers in their dull uniforms and with their ageless, polished faces.
2022, Jim Crace, eden, Picador, page 224
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveneat and tidy
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
ruly · adjective
- Old Englishhrēowlīċ“grievous, pitiful, sad, wretched, cruel”
- Middle Englishrewly
- Englishruly
From Middle English rewly, ruly, rewely, reweliche, from Old English hrēowlīċ (“grievous, pitiful, sad, wretched, cruel”), equivalent to rue + -ly.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →ruly · adverb
- Old Englishhrēowlīċe“cruelly”
- Middle Englishrewly
- Englishruly
From Middle English rewly, reoly, reowliche, from Old English hrēowlīċe (“cruelly”), equivalent to rue + -ly.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →ruly · adjective
- Old Frenchrulé
- Middle Englishrewly
- Englishruly
Back-formation from unruly, or perhaps a continuation of Middle English rewly, ruly, reuli (“subject to a religious rule, regular”), equivalent to rule + -ly, rule + -y; or perhaps from Old French rulé, reulé, rieulé (“ruled”), past participle of rieuler (“to rule”). More at rule.
More words from Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ruly
Cite this entry
ruly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruly
“ruly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruly. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ruly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruly.
Source: ruly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.