Flimsily

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Displaying a quality of inadequate strength or stability
2. In a way that suggests poor durability or ease of breakage
3. Performed with little solidity or firmness, likely to fail or collapse

Etymology: "Flimsily" is an adverb built from the adjective "flimsy" and the suffix "-ly," which turns an adjective into a description of how something is done. The suffix traces back a long way: it descends from an old Germanic word meaning "body" or "form," which in Old English became "-līce," meaning "in the manner of." Middle English then reduced it to "-ly," the same ending found in countless other adverbs. The adjective "flimsy" is the more interesting half of the pair. Its own origin is obscure, and it is not well documented in early English, so the adverb inherits whatever sense of fragility the adjective had. Knowing the suffix explains the grammar: "flimsily" describes an action carried out with little solidity, as in a structure built flimsily, or an argument put forward flimsily.

Synonyms: weakly, frailly, delicately, insubstantially, lightly

Antonyms: sturdily, strongly, robustly, firmly, solidly