Adverb Examples and Usage

Adverbs are words that modify other words or phrases, besides nouns, in a sentence. People often think that all adverbs end in -ly. While many do, this is not the case for all adverbs.

In this article, you’ll find a list of over three hundred adverbs, along with examples of how to use adverbs in sentences.

Adverb Definition

The definition of an adverb is a word that modifies another part of speech in a sentence. Adverbs often modify verbs, but sometimes they modify adjectives, other adverbs, or even clauses. They do not modify nouns—adjectives do that.

Adverb clauses are phrases of two or more words that function as an adverb. For example, in order to is a conjunctive adverb. The three words work together to make an adverb clause.

Adverbs Meaning

What does it mean to modify verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or other parts of speech? “Modify” means “change,” but in grammar, we use it to mean adding additional information.

Adverbs can explain how or to what extent something occurs. They can tell you when, where, or how often something happens. Adverbs can even add opinions to sentences.

We use adverbs to clarify, explain, or describe. They express emphasis and help set the scene. Because adverbs can modify other adverbs, we can even combine adverbs to add additional emphasis (e.g. very rarely).

Adverbs don’t always end in -ly, but if you see word ending in -ly, it’s a good clue that you’ve found an adverb.

Take a look at this example sentence:

• She glared coolly at her ex-husband.

The adverb “coolly” modifies the verb “glared.” It tells how she glared.

Here’s an example of how an adverb can modify adjectives:

• The toddler is extremely energetic.

“Energetic” is an adjective. The adverb “extremely” tells us to what degree the toddler is energetic.

Now, let’s look at how adverbs might modify other adverbs.

• She did very well on her Chemistry test.

“Very” and “well” are both adverbs. “Very” tells us how well she did.

Types of Adverbs Examples

Adverbs fall into several categories. These are manner, place, frequency, purpose, time, degree, and evaluation.

These categories are somewhat arbitrary. Different authorities and sources may include only a few of these categories. Some adverbs can fit into more than one category.

We have compiled a list of 312 examples of adverbs below. This is not an exhaustive list—there are hundreds more adverbs in the English language.

Adverbs of Manner

The most common type of adverb is an adverb of manner. Adverbs of manner describe how something is done or how it occurs. These are often the types of words people think of when they think of adverbs. Most -ly adverbs are adverbs of manner.

Here is a list of 153 adverbs of manner:

1. Abnormally
2. Absentmindedly
3. Accidentally
4. Adversely
5. Amazingly
6. Angrily
7. Awkwardly
8. Badly
9. Beautifully
10. Bleakly
11. Blindly
12. Boldly
13. Bravely
14. Briefly
15. Busily
16. Calmly
17. Cautiously
18. Clearly
19. Cleverly
20. Commonly
21. Cooly
22. Correctly
23. Cruelly
24. Daringly
25. Dangerously
26. Dastardly
27. Dearly
28. Deceptively
29. Delightfully
30. Diligently
31. Drearily
32. Dumbly
33. Eagerly
34. Easily
35. Energetically
36. Evenly
37. Excitedly
38. Fairly
39. Fast
40. Fatally
41. Ferociously
42. Fiercely
43. Foolishly
44. Freely
45. Gently
46. Gladly
47. Gracefully
48. Happily
49. Hastily
50. Heavily
51. Helpfully
52. Honestly
53. Hopefully
54. Hungrily
55. Idiotically
56. Inadequately
57. Innocently
58. Intensely
59. Irritably
60. Jauntily
61. Jealously
62. Joyfully
63. Justly
64. Kindly
65. Knowingly
66. Languorously
67. Lazily
68. Lightly
69. Loftily
70. Loosely
71. Loudly
72. Loyally
73. Lovingly
74. Madly
75. Meanly
76. Merrily
77. Miserably
78. Mysteriously
79. Nastily
80. Nefariously
81. Nervously
82. Nicely
83. Noxiously
84. Noisily
85. Obediently
86. Oddly
87. Openly
88. Painfully
89. Passively
90. Patiently
91. Perfectly
92. Physically
93. Politely
94. Poorly
95. Promptly
96. Properly
97. Proudly
98. Punctually
99. Quaintly
100. Quickly
101. Quietly
102. Rabidly
103. Rarely
104. Readily
105. Reassuringly
106. Reluctantly
107. Righteously
108. Roughly
109. Rudely
110. Sadly
111. Safely
112. Searchingly
113. Selfishly
114. Seriously
115. Sharply
116. Shrilly
117. Shyly
118. Sinisterly
119. Sleepily
120. Smoothly
121. Soberly
122. Softly
123. Stealthily
124. Sternly
125. Stubbornly
126. Stupidly
127. Surprisingly
128. Sweetly
129. Tacitly
130. Terribly
131. Thankfully
132. Tightly
133. Timidly
134. Truthfully
135. Understandingly
136. Unhappily
137. Unwillingly
138. Upbeat
139. Uselessly
140. Vaguely
141. Vainly
142. Verbally
143. Viciously
144. Violently
145. Voraciously
146. Wanly
147. Warmly
148. Wetly
149. Widely
150. Willingly
151. Wonderfully
152. Yearningly
153. Zestily

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place tell where something occurs. These are also called spatial adverbs. Adverbs of place don’t usually end in -ly.

Some adverbs of place might be directional, while others may deal with distance or position. Many adverbs of place can also be prepositions in some situations.

However, when these words modify verbs or verb phrases, they function as adverbs.

Here are some adverb of place examples:

1. Above
2. Around
3. Back
4. Backward
5. Below
6. Close
7. Close by
8. Down
9. East
10. Eastward
11. Everywhere
12. Far
13. Far away
14. Forward
15. Here
16. Left
17. Near
18. Nearby
19. North
20. Northeast
21. Northwest
22. On
23. Onward
24. Out
25. There
26. Outside
27. Right
28. South
29. Southeast
30. Southwest
31. There
32. Under
33. Underneath
34. Up
35. Upward
36. West
37. Westward

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency are adverbs that tell us how often something occurs. Sometimes, adverbs of frequency end in -ly, but not always.

Let’s look at some examples of adverbs of frequency.

1. Again
2. Always
3. Annually
4. Biannually
5. Bimonthly
6. Biweekly
7. Daily
8. Frequently
9. Generally
10. Hourly
11. Monthly
12. Never
13. Normally
14. Occasionally
15. Often
16. Quarterly
17. Rarely
18. Seldom
19. Sometimes
20. Typically
21. Usually
22. Weekly
23. Yearly

Adverbs of Purpose

Adverbs of purpose are also called adverbs of reason or conjunctive adverbs. They connect two clauses.

When you use an adverb of purpose, you turn one clause into a modifier. The adverb modifies an entire clause. These adverbial clauses help explain why something happens.

Adverbs of purpose can be one word or a phrase. Here are some examples of these types of adverbs:

1. Accordingly
2. Also
3. Anyway
4. Because
5. Besides
6. Certainly
7. Consequently
8. Finally
9. Furthermore
10. Hence
11. However
12. In addition
13. In fact
14. In order to
15. Incidentally
16. Indeed
17. Instead
18. Lately
19. Likewise
20. Meanwhile
21. Moreover
22. Nevertheless
23. Next
24. Nonetheless
25. Now
26. Otherwise
27. Rather
28. Similarly
29. Since
30. Still
31. Subsequently
32. Then
33. Thereby
34. Therefore
35. Thus

Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of time modify verbs and other parts of speech to explain when something happens. These differ from frequency adverbs, which focus on how often something occurs, although there is some overlap.

For example, annually is considered both an adverb of time and an adverb of frequency.

1. After
2. Before
3. Last week/month/year
4. Later
5. Next week/month/year
6. Now
7. Only
8. Recently
9. Sometime
10. Soon
11. Tomorrow
12. Yesterday
13. Yet

Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of degree explain to what extent something occurs. This is similar to adverbs of manner, but it instead focuses on the intensity of something. Adverbs of degree often end in -ly.

Adverbs of degree often modify adjectives, although they can modify verbs as well. Here is a list of some adverbs of degree:

1. Almost
2. Absolutely
3. Barely
4. Completely
5. Decidedly
6. Deeply
7. Enough
8. Enormously
9. Especially
10. Even
11. Extremely
12. Greatly
13. Hardly
14. Fairly
15. Forcefully
16. Fully
17. Incredibly
18. Intensely
19. Least
20. Little
21. Just
22. Most
23. Nearly
24. Perfectly
25. Positively
26. Practically
27. Purely
28. Quite
29. Rather
30. Really
31. Scarcely
32. Simply
33. So
34. Somewhat
35. Terribly
36. Thoroughly
37. Too
38. Totally
39. Tremendously
40. Very

Adverbs of Evaluation

Adverbs of evaluation, also called commenting adverbs, offer commentary or judgment. These words are subjective and can relate opinions or degrees of certainty.

Here are some examples of adverbs of evaluation:

1. Actually
2. Apparently
3. Clearly
4. Frankly
5. Fortunately
6. Hopefully
7. Luckily
8. Sadly
9. Thankfully
10. Unbelievably
11. Unfortunately

Adverb Examples in Sentences

Now, let’s use some of our examples of adverbs in sentences.

First, let’s start with some adverbs of manner.

• The new hire accidentally deleted everything off the shared drive.
• The seventh-grade boy leaned in awkwardly for a kiss from his crush.
• I cannot believe how beautifully she painted the backdrop for the play.
• Briefly describe your work experience in your cover letter.
• After getting glasses, he could see clearly for the first time ever.
• I love you dearly even after twenty years together.
• He reached his hands eagerly into the cookie jar.
• The writer foolishly did not back up her manuscript, and the power went out.
• She snarled jealously at the woman hitting on her spouse.
• The girl entered the stage nervously and began to sing.
• If you’re not going to fold the towels properly, don’t do it at all.
• The man, who answered the phone rudely, said my RV was too old to stay there then hung up on me.
• The new member timidly took a seat near the back of the group.
• After the race, we voraciously ate a huge brunch.

Now, here are some examples of adverbs of place:

• The kids like to go down the slide backward.
• The toddler snuggled close to his mom for story time.
• Can you move down a few seats to make room for us?
• He moved back east after attending college in Los Angeles.
• We searched everywhere for my lost wallet, but we never found it.
• She just got here from out of town.
• I wish my best friend still lived nearby.
• Please play outside if you’re going to scream!
• Did you look over there for Easter eggs?
• The roller coaster traveled upward at nearly a 90 degree angle.

Next, let’s take a look at some adverbs of frequency.

• We always have tamales on Christmas Day.
• My company does performance reviews bi-annually.
• He frequently misses his exit because he’s listening to an exciting audiobook.
• On the weekends, my parents generally spend time with their friends.
• Do you get paid hourly?
• I hope you never have to witness something traumatic.
• Occasionally, we like to splurge on a fancy meal.
• So, do you come here often?
• The teacher rarely smiles at her students.
• The news seldom tells the whole story of what happened.
• On Mondays, I typically have a 10 a.m. meeting.
• Is she usually this late or is this out-of-character for her?

Next up are adverbs of purpose. These act like conjunctions but explain why something happened.

• The burger is not good. In fact, it’s one of the nastiest things I’ve ever eaten.
• In order to make a good first impression, I woke up early to do my hair and makeup.
• We were several points behind in the last quarter; nonetheless, we tried our best to win.
• Since it’s getting cold outside, I packed away all my shorts and tank tops.
• The train was running late; thus, I didn’t get to buy coffee.

Here are some examples of adverbs of time:

• We’ll attend the movie after we go to dinner.
• The family went on vacation to Florida last year.
• Do you want to go swimming later with me?
• Our boss is expecting everyone to get a large bonus next year since we hit our annual goals.
• I recently attended an incredible performance of the opera La Traviatta.
• I know my phone is somewhere in my house, but where?

Next, let’s look at some examples of adverbs of degree, which tell us about the intensity of something that occurred.

• He almost fooled me with that silly magic trick!
• These new shoes barely fit me, even though they’re my size.
• She was completely enamored by the beautiful visitor.
• My favorite thing about my brother is how deeply he cares for his family.
• According to the song in Beauty and the Beast, Gaston is “especially good at expectorating.”
• The students greatly admired their history teacher.
• Are you working hard or hardly working?
• He studied just hard enough to pass the exam.
• This is the most delicious carrot cake I’ve ever had!
• The children were practically shaking with excitement on the way to Disney World.
• The latest Marvel movie was quite good.
• She is somewhat concerned about fitting in at her new job.
• I am too angry to respond to this email right now.

Finally, here are some sentences with adverbs of evaluation:

• He was not actually telling the truth when he said he bought a house.
• This hotel is apparently rated five stars.
• We clearly misunderstood the instructions in this recipe.
• Frankly, I think you’re making a terrible decision.
• She is fortunately going to pull through her battle with cancer.
• Sadly, we will not be able to attend your wedding.
• The water is unbelievably cold, even though it’s June!

How to Use Adverbs

You can use adverbs in your writing to explain, add information, or emphasize a point. They can modify adjectives, adverbs, verbs, phrases, and clauses.

Use adverbs of manner and adverbs of degree sparingly. Instead, focus on using strong verbs in your writing. When you use one of these adverbs, focus on specific or colorful ones, instead of overused ones like “very.”

If you’re searching for new adverbs to use, you can use ProWritingAid’s built-in thesaurus. Simply click on a word to see a list of synonyms.

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