cleanly

[adj. klen-lee; adv. kleen-lee] /adj. ˈklɛn li; adv. ˈklin li/
adjective, cleanlier, cleanliest.
1.
personally neat; careful to keep or make clean:
The cat is by nature a cleanly animal.
2.
habitually kept clean.
3.
Obsolete. cleansing; making clean.
adverb
4.
in a clean manner.
Origin
before 900; Middle English clenlich(e), Old English clǣnlīc, equivalent to clǣne clean + -līc -ly
Related forms
cleanliness
[klen-lee-nis] /ˈklɛn li nɪs/ (Show IPA),
noun
Can be confused
cleanliness, cleanness.
Examples from the web for cleanly
  • If the administration had cleanly closed entire departments, she said, that would have been one thing.
  • Wood burning can be done cleanly, even in an open pit.
  • cleanly divided by the horizon line, this frame was shot half an hour after sunset.
  • Then the gases are ignited, burning much more cleanly than a typical smoky home fireplace.
  • The one who arrives late with the disheveled uniform and his hair parted cleanly down the middle-he's a closet pyro.
  • Washing our garments to keep them sweet is cleanly, but it is the opposite to real cleanliness to hide dirt in them.
  • He was thrown against a stone wall that ripped his right arm off cleanly at the shoulder.
  • Inside the gizmo, a network of grippers scurries up the line and ensures that it threads cleanly out the side.
  • In our limited surfing time, it handled complex sites cleanly.
  • It's effective, cool-looking, and breaks away cleanly when kicked.
British Dictionary definitions for cleanly

cleanly

adverb (ˈkliːnlɪ)
1.
in a fair manner
2.
easily or smoothly: the screw went into the wood cleanly
adjective (ˈklɛnlɪ) -lier, -liest
3.
habitually clean or neat
Derived Forms
cleanlily (ˈklɛnlɪlɪ) adverb
cleanliness (ˈklɛnlɪnɪs) noun
Word Origin and History for cleanly
adj.

Old English clænlic "morally pure, innocent," from clæne (see clean (adj.)). Of persons, "habitually clean," from c.1500.

adv.

Old English clænlice; see clean (adj.) + -ly (2).