How to use idly in a sentence

Examples of idly by meaning

More sentences with idly

• I can't accept nothing being done about the problem and your standing idly by.From the entry accept
• Joe idly hoboed through half the country till he realized hoboing never gets you anywhere in life.From the entry hobo
• If the Duke arms himself for war, the king will not sit by idly!From the entry arms
• Idly, the detective thought what his next move should be.From the entry think
• He looks up from the recliner, where he's idly playing a match-four game on his phone.2021, Ramsey Hootman, Cyril in the Flesh, unnumbered page. From the entry match-four game
• The United States cannot stand idly by and let its economic relationship with Beijing cloud its judgment.2019 December 19, Grace Funk, “Opinion: The U.S. should do more to stop China's reeducation camps”, in Los Angeles Times, archived from…. From the entry final solution
• Even when turned off, these devices can idly sip electricity from your outlet costing you money.2014 October 20, Erik Hyrkas, "Energy Vampires are Attacking Your Home – Here’s How to Stop Them" (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable…. From the entry sip
• The boys couldn't stand idly by while three Wednesdayites got mullered; it was not the done thing.2012, Anthony Cronshaw, Wednesday Rucks and Rock 'n' Roll: Tales from the East Bank. From the entry muller
• The captain did not wear glasses so he idly wondered who the specky turd was.2011, Jim Cunningham, Starballs in Space, page 45. From the entry specky
• Damug circled the cage which held the creature, idly clacking his swordblade against the seasoned wood bars.1997, Brian Jacques, The Long Patrol. From the entry swordblade
• Obviously, few counselors would sit idly by while little Johnny became a bandit.1950, California Journal of Secondary Education, volume 25, page 335. From the entry little Johnny
• Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Silverside”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 316. From the entry obliterate
• She ran her hair idly through her fingers.2000, Barry Tighe, Identity Cards, Barry Tighe, →ISBN. From the entry plussed
• While the coffee perked, she flipped idly through a gardening magazine and scanned an article on the war against aphids.1996, Sherry Lewis, This Montana Home, Harlequin Books, page 288. From the entry perk
• Varya walked past slowly, idly peeping into each of them.1989, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H. T. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 53. From the entry primus
• Lachlan rose to fetch a coffee pot from the side table and idly Holly wondered how those legs coped with the unroominess of canoes.2013, Janie Summers, A Fallen Star, page 18. From the entry unroominess
• But I will not sit idly by and watch as this country and the world are hijacked by the ultimate domestic terrorists in Washington.2003 May 9, Frank Gubasta, “I’m Disgusted”, in Marie Spike, Charles Reskin, David Reskin, compilers, Outcry: American Voices of…. From the entry nutbar
• Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful.1907, Robert W. Chambers, chapter VIII, in The Younger Set. From the entry elbow

Meaning of idly

1. adverb Without specific purpose, intent or effort.
2. adverb In an idle manner.

Full definition of idly

More about idly

• Meaning of idly

Questions about idly in a sentence

How do you use idly in a sentence?

Idly is used as an adverb. For example: “I idly played with the paper, not even realizing I was folding it into a paper airplane.”

What is a short sentence with idly?

“She ran her hair idly through her fingers.”

What does idly mean?

Idly means without specific purpose, intent or effort.