Dictionary

aptly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˈæp(t).li/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English apt Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der. Proto-Germanic *līkąder. Proto-Germanic *-līkaz Proto-Germanic *-ê Proto-Germanic *-līkê Proto-West Germanic *-līkē Old English -līċe Middle English -ly English -ly English aptly From apt + -ly.

Meanings

1. In an apt or suitable manner; fittingly; appropriately; suitably
   • This was a war of choice. Even without the “Epstein Coalition” — as the Iranian media so aptly dubs their invaders — murdering 165 Iranian school girls on day one, “peace through strength” was never going to happen. 2026 March 5, Michael West, “Australia and the ‘Epstein Coalition’ – invasion of Iran a disaster”, in Asia Pacific Report, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2026:
   • The Noisy Scrub-bird is aptly named because its main call of several sweet notes is ear-piercingly loud. 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 247:
   • an aptly named hotel
   • The border-land where the white and black races meet in common debauch, the aptly-named black-and-tan saloon, has never been debatable ground from a moral stand-point. 1890, Jacob A[ugust] Riis, “The Color Line in New York”, in How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 156:
   • My friend, aptly nicknamed “Shorty”, was small but strong.

Forms

Deriveds

unaptly

Translations (27)

fi osuvasti (in an apt or suitable manner) · ro în mod just (in an apt or suitable manner) · ru удачно (in an apt or suitable manner) · sh shodno (in an apt or suitable manner) · pt aptamente (in an apt or suitable manner) · ro pe drept (in an apt or suitable manner) · sk vhodne (in an apt or suitable manner) · it appropriatamente (in an apt or suitable manner) · es aptamente (in an apt or suitable manner) · it giustamente (in an apt or suitable manner) · ca encertadament (in an apt or suitable manner) · oc aptament (in an apt or suitable manner) · cmn 适当地 (in an apt or suitable manner) · ca aptament (in an apt or suitable manner) · uk удачно (in an apt or suitable manner) · sh zgodno (in an apt or suitable manner) · sk príhodne (in an apt or suitable manner) · hu találóan (in an apt or suitable manner) · pl odpowiednio (in an apt or suitable manner) · sh prikladno (in an apt or suitable manner) · es acertadamente (in an apt or suitable manner) · pl trafnie (in an apt or suitable manner) · it adeguatamente (in an apt or suitable manner) · uk влучно (in an apt or suitable manner) · la aptē (in an apt or suitable manner) · sk trefne (in an apt or suitable manner) · sk pohotovo (in an apt or suitable manner)