cleanly

[adj. klen-lee; adv. kleen-lee] /adj. ˈklɛn li; adv. ˈklin li/

adjective, cleanlier, cleanliest.

personally neat; careful to keep or make clean:

The cat is by nature a cleanly animal.

habitually kept clean.

Obsolete. cleansing; making clean.

adverb

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

adverb (ˈkliːnlɪ)

in a fair manner

easily or smoothly: the screw went into the wood cleanly

adjective (ˈklɛnlɪ) -lier, -liest

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).