An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, adding detail about how, when, where, how often, or to what extent something happens. This list gathers a broad range of English adverbs in alphabetical order for quick reference.
How to Use This List of Adverbs
Scan the table for a word by its first letter, then check the category legend that follows to see which type of adverb it belongs to and where to find the lesson that teaches it in depth. Most of the words in this list function as adverbs of manner, describing how an action happens, since manner adverbs make up the largest single category in English.
Full List of Adverbs From A to Z
| Abruptly | Absentmindedly | Accidentally | Actually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admittedly | Affectionately | Amazingly | Angrily |
| Anxiously | Appallingly | Apprehensively | Astonishingly |
| Badly | Beautifully | Bitterly | Blissfully |
| Boldly | Bravely | Brightly | Brutally |
| Carefully | Carelessly | Casually | Cautiously |
| Clearly | Closely | Coherently | Comfortably |
| Comically | Commonly | Confidently | Confusedly |
| Consistently | Constantly | Contemptuously | Continuously |
| Correctly | Crazily | Cruelly | Curiously |
| Dangerously | Daringly | Darkly | Dearly |
| Deeply | Defiantly | Deliberately | Desperately |
| Determinedly | Devotedly | Dimly | Discreetly |
| Disgustingly | Distinctly | Distractedly | Doubtfully |
| Dramatically | Dreamily | Drunkenly | Eagerly |
| Easily | Elegantly | Enthusiastically | Equally |
| Especially | Essentially | Eventually | Exactly |
| Exceedingly | Excitedly | Exhaustedly | Explicitly |
| Expressively | Extensively | Extraordinarily | Fabulously |
| Famously | Far | Fascinatingly | Fatally |
| Fearfully | Fiercely | Fondly | Foolishly |
| Formally | Fortunately | Frantically | Freely |
| Frequently | Frighteningly | Fully | Furiously |
| Generously | Gently | Genuinely | Gloriously |
| Gracefully | Graciously | Gradually | Gratefully |
| Greatly | Grimly | Happily | Harshly |
| Hastily | Heartily | Heavily | Helpfully |
| Heroically | Honestly | Hopelessly | Hourly |
| Hugely | Humbly | Hungrily | Immediately |
| Impressively | Incredibly | Indifferently | Infrequently |
| Inquisitively | Instantly | Intensely | Intently |
| Interestingly | Inwardly | Irritably | Jealously |
| Jovially | Joyfully | Joyously | Judiciously |
| Keenly | Kindly | Kookily | Lazily |
| Lightly | Loudly | Lovingly | Loyally |
| Madly | Majestically | Meaningfully | Meekly |
| Mellowly | Merely | Mildly | Mischievously |
| Miserably | Mockingly | Monthly | Mysteriously |
| Naturally | Nearly | Neatly | Nervously |
| Nobly | Normally | Notoriously | Oddly |
| Offensively | Officially | Openly | Optimistically |
| Passionately | Patiently | Perfectly | Playfully |
| Politely | Poorly | Powerfully | Precisely |
| Promptly | Proudly | Purely | Quickly |
| Quietly | Quirkily | Rapidly | Rarely |
| Readily | Really | Recklessly | Regularly |
| Reluctantly | Remarkably | Remorsefully | Repetitively |
| Respectfully | Richly | Ridiculously | Righteously |
| Robustly | Roughly | Rudely | Sadly |
| Safely | Scarcely | Secretly | Securely |
| Seductively | Selfishly | Sensibly | Sensitively |
| Seriously | Shyly | Silently | Simply |
| Sleepily | Slowly | Smoothly | Softly |
| Solemnly | Solidly | Someplace | Sometimes |
| Somewhat | Soon | Specially | Speedily |
| Steadily | Sternly | Still | Strictly |
| Strongly | Suddenly | Supposedly | Surprisingly |
| Suspiciously | Swiftly | Tenderly | Terribly |
| Thoughtfully | Tightly | Tomorrow | Too |
| Tremendously | Trivially | Truly | Ultimately |
| Unanimously | Unbearably | Unbelievably | Uncertainly |
| Unconditionally | Underneath | Uneasily | Unfortunately |
| Unintentionally | Unquestionably | Urgently | Usefully |
| Usually | Vacantly | Vaguely | Valiantly |
| Vastly | Verbally | Very | Vibrantly |
| Victoriously | Vigorously | Violently | Vivaciously |
| Voluntarily | Voraciously | Warmly | Weakly |
| Wearily | Well | Wetly | Wholly |
| Wildly | Willingly | Wisely | Wistfully |
| Wonderfully | Worriedly | Wrongly | Yearly |
| Yearningly | Yesterday | Yonder | Youthfully |
| Zealously | Zestfully | **** | **** |
Adverb Categories at a Glance
A handful of words in this list belong to categories other than manner. The rest function as adverbs of manner by default.
- Time: eventually, immediately, soon, still, tomorrow, yesterday. A dedicated adverbs of time lesson covers this category in full.
- Frequency: usually, rarely, frequently, sometimes, normally. A dedicated adverbs of frequency lesson covers this category in full.
- Place: underneath, someplace, far, yonder. A dedicated adverbs of place lesson covers this category in full, including a note on yonder as an archaic, poetic word rather than everyday modern vocabulary.
- Degree: very, too, greatly, merely, fully, scarcely. A dedicated adverbs of degree lesson covers this category in full.
- Manner: the majority of the words in this list, including carefully, quickly, and silently. A dedicated adverbs of manner lesson covers formation and placement rules in full.
For the complete classification system behind these categories, a 13 types of adverbs lesson explains how every category relates to the others.
FAQs
Q2. What type of adverb is “quickly”?
Quickly functions as an adverb of manner, since it answers how an action happens, as in Maya finished the report quickly. A dedicated adverbs of manner lesson covers the formation rules behind words like this one.
Q3. Is “yonder” a common English word?
Yonder is a genuine adverb of place, but it belongs to an older or poetic register rather than everyday modern English. Common alternatives include there or over there for most contexts.
Q4. What is the difference between an adverb and an adjective that ends in “-ly”?
Most -ly words that modify a verb are adverbs, such as quickly or carefully. A small set of -ly words, including friendly, lovely, and lively, are adjectives with no corresponding adverb form, a distinction the adverbs of manner lesson covers directly.
Q1. Is “gritty” an adverb?
No. Gritty is an adjective, as in a gritty performance. Its adverb form, grittily, is the correct word to use when modifying a verb, though it appears rarely in everyday English.
