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Definition of rightly adverb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rightly

adverb
 
/ˈraɪtli/
 
/ˈraɪtli/
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  1. for a good reason synonym justifiably
    • The school was rightly proud of the excellent exam results.
    • He was proud of his beautiful house, and rightly so.
    • Quite rightly, the environment is of great concern.
    • Rightly or wrongly, many older people are afraid of violence in the streets.
    Extra Examples
    • Rightly or wrongly, he was released early from prison.
    • She believed, quite rightly, that he had let her down.
  2. in a correct or accurate way
    • As she rightly pointed out, the illness can affect adults as well as children.
    • I can't rightly say what happened.
    • I don't rightly know where he's gone.
    • If I remember rightly, there's a train at six o'clock.
    Which Word? right / rightlyright / rightly
    • Right and rightly can both be used as adverbs. In the sense ‘correctly’ or ‘in the right way’, right is the usual adverb. It is only used after verbs:
      • He did it right.
      • Did I spell your name right?
      Rightly cannot be used like this. In formal language correctly is used:
      • Is your name spelled correctly?
    • The usual meaning of rightly is ‘for a good reason’ and it comes before an adjective:
      • They are rightly proud of their children.
      It can be used to mean ‘correctly’ before a verb or in particular phrases:
      • As you rightly say, we have a serious problem.
      In North American English rightly is not at all common.
See rightly in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee rightly in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: rightly

Nearby words

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