The Adverb of Beauty: Beautifully
The adverb of beauty is beautifully.
How beautifully is formed
Beauty is a noun, not an adjective, so the adverb is formed in two steps rather than one: beauty → beautiful → beautifully. The adjective ends in l, so adding -ly gives two.
Several nouns reach their adverb the same way: glory → glorious → gloriously, peace → peaceful → peacefully, care → careful → carefully. There is no such thing as an adverb formed directly from a noun.
Beautifully in a sentence
| The room was beautifully decorated. | The literal sense: pleasing to look at. |
| She sang beautifully. | Skill rather than appearance. |
| The plan worked beautifully. | Nothing to do with beauty at all – it simply means perfectly. |
Where it is actually used
Knowing the form is one thing; knowing the company a word keeps is what makes it sound natural. These are the patterns beautifully appears in most often.
| beautifully written / made / crafted | Praising workmanship. |
| beautifully preserved / restored | Very common in writing about buildings and art. |
| worked / turned out beautifully | Means it went perfectly. The beauty sense has faded entirely here. |
Beautifully or something else?
Several adverbs sit close to beautifully, and the difference is usually meaning rather than formality.
| exquisitely | About fine detail. Exquisitely embroidered, where beautifully would be vaguer. |
| elegantly | About restraint and proportion rather than prettiness. |
| gorgeously | Stronger, more visual, and rarely used of abstract things. |
The mistake to watch for
| Incorrect | Correct |
| beautifuly | beautifully |
Both l letters are needed: one closes beautiful, one opens -ly. The other frequent error, beautyfully, comes from building the adverb on the noun instead of the adjective.
Related forms
Pronunciation: BYOO-ti-full-ee, four syllables.
| Noun | beauty |
| Adjective | beautiful |
| Adverb | beautifully |
| Verb | beautify |
Practice
Fill the gap, then check yourself.
- The house has been ___ restored.
- The negotiation went ___.
- The manuscript was ___ illuminated in gold leaf.
Answers: 1. beautifully 2. beautifully 3. exquisitely / beautifully
Frequently asked
Is there an adverb beautily?
No. Adverbs are built from adjectives, and beauty is a noun. The adjective beautiful is the bridge you need.
