Auditorily

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner associated with what is heard and perceived through sound
2. Through the sense of hearing, relating to the perception of sounds
3. In a way that involves detecting or processing sounds using the ears

Etymology: "Auditorily" is a plain formation: the adjective "auditory" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" added, giving the sense "in an auditory manner." The adjective "auditory" comes from Latin "auditorius," meaning "of hearing," from "audire," "to hear," the same root that gives English "audience," "audible," and "audition." Those older relatives show the core idea: the word is about perceiving by ear. Because "-ly" attaches freely to adjectives of this kind, the adverb needs no special history of its own. It simply describes doing something through hearing, as in describing information that is "auditorily" processed by a listener rather than seen on a page.

Synonyms: aurally, listeningly, hearingly