Literary notes about lightly (AI summary)
In literature, "lightly" is a versatile adverb that enriches descriptions, imbuing both physical actions and abstract attitudes with delicacy and nuance. It often conveys the gentle, almost imperceptible nature of touch or movement—as when a character pricks a hand lightly ([1]) or dances lightly on her toes ([2])—while simultaneously suggesting a cautious or nonchalant handling of situations, such as the need to tread lightly in sensitive matters ([3]) or not to take severe affairs lightly ([4], [5]). This dual use allows writers to evoke both a tangible sense of grace, like a hand lightly placed on a shoulder ([6]), and a more figurative approach that minimizes the gravity of certain decisions or events, thereby adding layers of meaning and tone to the narrative.
- "No, no, Mischief!" said Mary, good-humoredly, while she pricked his hand lightly with her needle.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot - I—” Pollyanna began to dance up and down lightly on her toes.
— from Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter - But we must tread lightly in these rarefied regions and get on to more practical concerns.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - Nobody shall speak lightly of that name in my presence.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - For this reason I beg the reader not to pass lightly over what is said of this concept at the end of the Analytic.
— from The Critique of Practical Reason by Immanuel Kant - She put his hair lightly away from his forehead, then laid her other hand on his, and was conscious of forgiving him.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot
