sparringly

comparative more sparringly · superlative most sparringly

1. As if sparring; in a combative manner.

   Woolf makes subjective even her statement that human affairs are subjective; Russell sparringly equates mathematics with divinity.

   2015, Megan Quigley, Modernist Fiction and Vagueness: Philosophy, Form, and Language

   1 more example

   There was a tense, angry silence as they faced each other sparringly in Abbey's dimly lit lounge, then Dalene hissed accusingly, 'You just don't care, do you?'

   1982, Yvonne Whittal, Bitter-Sweet Waters, page 144