Meaning of “lightly” in the English Dictionary

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"lightly" in English

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lightlyadverb

uk ​ /ˈlaɪt.li/ us ​ /ˈlaɪt.li/

lightly adverb (NOT SERIOUSLY)

› If you say something lightly, you are not serious when you say it:

"Anyway, it won't affect me because I'm leaving," she said lightly.
not do sth lightly

C2 If something is not said or treated lightly, it is said or treated in a serious way, after great thought:

Accusations like these from a top minister are not made lightly.

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lightly adverb (NOT SEVERELY)

get off lightly; let sb off lightly

› to be punished or to punish someone less severely than might have been expected:

I think he got off quite lightly considering it's his third driving offence.

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(Definition of “lightly” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"lightly" in American English

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lightlyadverb

us ​ /ˈlɑɪt·li/

lightly adverb (NOT SERIOUSLY)

› without serious consideration:

Funding for public schools is something I don't take lightly.

lightly adverb (NOT A LOT)

› If food is lightly cooked, it is cooked for only a short time.

(Definition of “lightly” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Blogs about "lightly"

Think long and hard; the language of decisions

by Liz Walter,

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