Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or an entire clause or sentence.
  • noun Any of the words belonging to this part of speech, such as so, very, and rapidly.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In grammar, one of the indeclinable parts of speech: so called from being ordinarily joined to verbs for the purpose of limiting or extending their signification, but used also to qualify adjectives and other adverbs: as, I readily admit; you speak wisely; very cold; naturally brave; very generally acknowledged;

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Gram.) A word used to modify the sense of a verb, participle, adjective, or other adverb, and usually placed near it

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun grammar A word that modifies a verb, adjective, other adverbs, or various other types of words, phrases, or clauses.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the word class that qualifies verbs or clauses
  • noun a word that modifies something other than a noun

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English adverbe, from Old French, from Latin adverbium (translation of Greek epirrhēma) : ad-, in relation to; see ad– + verbum, word, verb; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French adverbe, from Latin adverbium, from ad- ("to") + verbum ("word").

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Examples

Comments

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  • Make sure you always use adverbs correct.

    January 25, 2007

  • master of prescription, aren't we?

    June 3, 2008

  • Railroad telegraphers' shorthand for "Have you acted under legal advice?". --1906 US Railway Association Standard Cipher Code.

    January 19, 2013