Word.ws English Dictionary

protectively

protectively adverb: in a protective manner.

Adverb

protectively (comparative more protectively, superlative most protectively)

  1. In a protective manner.
    • Her smile froze. Her hands raised protectively, she crouched back. From her throat came a sound of pure terror.1983, Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic, published 2022, page 122

Forms of protectively

comparativemore protectively
superlativemost protectively

Origin of protectively

From protective + -ly.

Words formed from protectively

Questions about protectively

What does protectively mean?
Protectively means in a protective manner.
What part of speech is protectively?
Protectively is an adverb.

Words near protectively in the dictionary

  1. protective order
  2. protective orders
  3. protective pants
  4. protective reaction
  5. protective reactions
  6. protectively
  7. protectiveness
  8. protectives
  9. protectivity
  10. Protectograph
  11. Protectographs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: protectively (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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