Tunelessly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that lacks any pleasing melody, so that singing or playing sounds off-key or flat
2. Without a pleasing tune, with notes that fail to form a recognizable or agreeable musical line
3. Lacking musical sweetness, performed or sung in a discordant and monotonous way that offends the ear

Etymology: "Tunelessly" is a plain formation: the adjective "tuneless" with the adverbial suffix "-ly" added to the end. The adjective itself is built from "tune" and "-less," and the two parts have fairly separate histories. "Tune" descends from a root meaning to sound or resound, reaching English through Middle English as a variant of "tone," which explains why the two words are close cousins. The suffix "-less," meaning "without," comes from Old English "-lēas," which was originally a separate word meaning "free from" or "devoid of," and it has been attached to nouns to form adjectives ever since. The suffix "-ly" has its own origin: it developed from Old English "-līċe," the adverbial ending that turned adjectives into descriptions of manner, so that "tuneless" became "tunelessly" in the sense of doing something without any musical quality. Because the adverb is built by adding a suffix to an adjective, its meaning follows directly from the two parts: "tuneless" describes something lacking melody, and "tunelessly" describes an action carried out in that manner.

Synonyms: offkey, flatly, discordantly

Antonyms: melodiously, tunefully, harmoniously