The Adverb of Love: Lovingly
The adverb of love is lovingly.
How lovingly is formed
Love is a noun and a verb, not an adjective, so the adverb is built in two steps: love → loving → lovingly. The silent e is dropped when loving is formed.
The same route as care → caring → caringly and trust → trusting → trustingly. A present participle can act as an adjective, and once it does, it takes -ly like any other.
Lovingly in a sentence
| The house has been lovingly restored. | Almost a fixed phrase in writing about buildings. |
| She lovingly wrapped each parcel. | With visible care. |
| The meal was lovingly prepared. | Effort as a form of affection. |
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 lovingly appears in most often.
| lovingly restored / preserved | Property listings and antique descriptions. |
| lovingly crafted / made / prepared | Emphasising care taken by hand. |
| gazed / looked lovingly at | Affection toward a person. |
Lovingly or something else?
Several adverbs sit close to lovingly, and the difference is usually meaning rather than formality.
| affectionately | Warmth directed at a person. It fits a greeting; it does not fit a restored building. |
| tenderly | Gentleness in handling, often in a moment of vulnerability. |
| fondly | Usually about memory: remembered fondly. |
The mistake to watch for
| Incorrect | Correct |
| She sang lovely. | She sang beautifully. |
Lovely is an adjective, not an adverb, despite the -ly. It is one of a small group – friendly, likely, silly, lonely – where the ending is part of the adjective itself.
Adjectives that end in -ly. The ending is not a reliable test. Lovely, friendly, lonely, silly, ugly and likely are all adjectives. When you need an adverb from one of them, English usually makes you rephrase: not she smiled friendlily, but she smiled in a friendly way.
Related forms
Pronunciation: LUV-ing-lee, three syllables.
| Noun / verb | love |
| Adjective | loving |
| Adverb | lovingly |
| Not an adverb | lovely (adjective only) |
Practice
Fill the gap, then check yourself.
- The garden had been ___ maintained for decades.
- He remembered his old school ___.
- She greeted us in a ___ way.
Answers: 1. lovingly 2. fondly 3. friendly (adjective – the phrasing has to change)
Frequently asked
Is there an adverb form of lovely?
No, and English has no comfortable way to make one. Lovelily exists in dictionaries but almost nobody uses it. Rephrase instead.
