Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- Without moisture.
- Without embellishment; without anything to enliven, enrich, or entertain.
- Coldly; frigidly; without affection.
- Severely; harshly; inconsiderately.
- With apparently unintentional or sly humor or sarcasm.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adverb In a dry manner; not succulently; without interest; without sympathy; coldly.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb In a
dry manner.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb in a dry laconic manner
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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"Dunnot hurt thysen explainin '," dryly; "I nivver set up fur one.
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When I persisted, he shrugged and agreed to let me continue seeing Doug, whom he thereafter referred to dryly as my “healing project.”
Coyote Medicine M.D. Lewis Mebl-Madrona 1997
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When I persisted, he shrugged and agreed to let me continue seeing Doug, whom he thereafter referred to dryly as my “healing project.”
Coyote Medicine M.D. Lewis Mebl-Madrona 1997
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I seem to recall it being told kind of dryly, but the subject matter is really powerful and very relevant.
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An actor ( "Midnight Run" and those dog movies) and natural-born raconteur, he takes over Snyder's CNBC slot with the kind of dryly comic anecdotes he's filled three books with.
Late Night Unplugged 2008
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So many people were saying things "dryly" that I thought I was sitting in the Sahara.
Hawk & Fisher Bill Crider 2004
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"La Mancha, " Vuillard said dryly, meaning the English Channel.
Sharpe's Havoc Cornwell, Bernard 2003
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We're not as well off as we have been, "dryly;" but I'm not a beast to see a man starvin 'under my roof.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 12, No. 74, December, 1863 Various
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"He isn't just the pardner," dryly, "that I'd select for a long camping trip."
The Fighting Shepherdess Caroline Lockhart 1916
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"I've heerd foak ca 'him one," dryly; "an 'if his cloas fit him reet, he mun be one, I suppose."
hernesheir commented on the word dryly
"Why has draft not been honored?, in the abbreviated jargon of the railroad telegrapher. --US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906.
January 22, 2013