kindly
Syllables: kind·lyUK/ˈkaɪn(d)li/
kindly adjective: having a kind personality; kind, warmhearted, sympathetic.
Adjective
kindly (comparative kindlier, superlative kindliest)
- Having a kind personality; kind, warmhearted, sympathetic.
- A kindly old man sits on the park bench every afternoon feeding pigeons.
- The shade by which my life was crost, […] Has made me kindly with my kind1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto LXVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 91
- Synonyms:
- openhearted
- Favourable, gentle, pleasant, tidy, auspicious, beneficent.
- Ye Heav'ns! from high the devvy nectar pour, / And in ſoft ſilence ſhed the kindly ſhovv'r!1712 (date written), Alexander Pope, “Messiah. A Sacred Eclogue, in Imitation of Virgil’s Pollio.”, in The Works of Alexander Pope Esq. […], volume I, London: […] J[ohn] and P[aul] Knapton, H....
- His Brothers' wisdom or their love— / But calmly from the spot withdrew; / The like endeavours to renew, / should e'er a kindlier time ensue.1815, William Wordsworth, “(please specify the page)”, in The White Doe of Rylstone; or The Fate of the Nortons. A Poem, London: […] [F]or Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], by James...
- Lawful.
- Natural; inherent to the kind or race.
- the kindly fruits of the earth1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], →OCLC
- An heard of Bulles, whom kindly rage doth sting,1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 11
Adverb
kindly (comparative kindlier or more kindly, superlative kindliest or most kindly)
- In a kind manner, out of kindness.
- He kindly offered to take us to the station in his car.
- Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me; / The carriage held but just ourselves / And Immortality.a. 1887 (date written), Emily Dickinson, “[Book IV.—Time and Eternity] The Chariot”, in Mabel Loomis Todd and T[homas] W[entworth] Higginson, editors, Poems, First Series, Boston, Mass.: Roberts...
- Synonyms:
- thoughtfully
- In a favourable way.
- Aguero was quick to block Hennessey's attempted clearance and the ball bounced kindly to Dzeko, who had the simplest of tasks to put City ahead.2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport
- Used to make a polite request: please.
- Kindly refrain from walking on the grass.
- May we request that patrons kindly take their seats.
- Synonyms:
- be so kind as to, please
- With kind acceptance; used with take.
- I don't take kindly to threats.
- Aunt Daisy didn't take it kindly when we forgot her anniversary.
- Kind of, somewhat.
- Readily.
- Naturally.
kindly meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
kindly in Hindi
- kindly, would you?, please; used to make a polite request
- ज़रा zarā
kindly in Tamil
- சாதகமான, இயற்கையான, வினையுரிச்சொல், அன்புடன், கருணையுடன், சாதகமான முறையில்
kindly in Marathi
- दयाळूपणे
kindly in Urdu
- kindly
- لطفا lutfan
- kindly, please, would you?, could you?, may I?, if you will, if you may, if you please
- ذرا zarā
More languagesFewer languages
- kindly in Bengali
- সদয়ভাবে śodoẏbhabe
- kindly in Telugu
- దయగా
- kindly in Malayalam
- ദയവ് dayavŭ
- kindly in Kannada
- ದಯೆಯಿಂದ, ದಯಾಪರವಾಗಿ
- kindly in Gujarati
- જરા jarā
- kindly in Sanskrit
- कृपया kṛpayā
- kindly in Thai
- ใจดี jai-dii, กรุณา gà-rú-naa
Examples of kindly in a sentence
- Lead, kindly Light, amid th' encircling gloom, / Lead Thou me on1833, John Henry Newman, Lead, kindly Light:
- [W]hatſoever as the Sonne of God, He may doe; it is kindly, for Him, as the Sonne of man, to ſave the ſonnes of men.1609 November 14 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Lancelot Andrewes, “[Sermons of the Gun-pouder-treason, Preached vpon the Fift of...
- Her dress was pure white but her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl.1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 23, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co....
- Well, I called me wife and I said to her: Will you kindly tell to me / Who owns that horse outside the door where my old horse should be?a. 1770s, Traditional, “Seven Drunken Nights ”, performed by The Dubliners:
Synonyms of kindly
- openhearted
- thoughtfully
- be so kind as to
- please
- compassionate
- benignant
- good-hearted
- kind
- kindhearted
- humane
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
9 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of kindly
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | kindlier |
| superlative | kindliest |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | kindlier |
| comparative | more kindly |
| superlative | kindliest |
| superlative | most kindly |
Origin of kindly
From Middle English kyndely, kyndeliche, from Old English cyndelīċ (“natural, kindly”); equivalent to kind + -ly.
From Middle English kyndely, kyndly, kyndeliche, from Old English ġecyndelīċe, equivalent to kind + -ly.
Words formed from kindly
Phrases with kindly
Words that rhyme with kindly
Questions about kindly
- What does kindly mean?
- Kindly means having a kind personality; kind, warmhearted, sympathetic.
- What is kindly in Hindi?
- Kindly in Hindi is ज़रा (zarā). See Kindly meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use kindly in a sentence?
- Lead, kindly Light, amid th' encircling gloom, / Lead Thou me on
- What part of speech is kindly?
- Kindly can be an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce kindly?
- Kindly is pronounced /ˈkaɪn(d)li/ (UK).
Words near kindly in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: kindly (page history and authors); ज़रा (Hindi) (page history and authors); kindly (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); kindly (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ذرا (Urdu) (page history and authors); সদয়ভাবে (Bengali) (page history and authors); kindly (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ദയവ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); kindly (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); જરા (Gujarati) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-kindly.ogg.
Cite this entry: “kindly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kindly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.