meekly
/miːk.li/adverb
meekly is spelled M-E-E-K-L-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, meekly means “In a meek manner; quietly and humbly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in meekly?
| Letters | 6: M-E-E-K-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 51,129th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is meekly?
Meekly appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 51,129th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce meekly?
- /miːk.li/
Meekly has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-meekly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of meekly
- more meekly comparative
- most meekly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does meekly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a meek manner; quietly and humbly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Meekly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quietly:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | humblement |
| Spanish | mansamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does meekly come from?
From Middle English mekely, mekeliche, equivalent to meek + -ly. Compare Old Norse mjúkliga.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).