Irregular and confusing adverbs and adjectives in English

Have you noticed that some English adverbs are confusing because they don’t mean what you think they should?

For example, the adverb ‘hardly’ has nothing to do with trying hard or being the opposite of soft.

Here we will look at some of the most confusing adverbs and adjectives in the English language, including irregular adverbs, so you don’t get caught out by this vocabulary.

Why are some English adverbs so confusing?

In English, as a general rule, adverbs ending -ly have a meaning directly linked to the adjective from which they are formed. For example:

definite > definitely
frugal > frugally
happy > happily
perfect > perfectly
slow > slowly

Seems simple, right? It is, until you come across the exceptions to the rule. And it’s these confusing adverbs that we’re looking at today; the ones that look like they are formed with ‘adjective + ly’ but in fact have a different meaning (or are not adverbs at all).

You’ll also see that some irregular adverbs can be either an adjective or an adverb, depending on the context.

Confusing adverbs and adjectives

We’ll begin by looking at some adjectives and adverbs that look like they should be connected in meaning, but aren’t.

Bare and barely

The adjective bare usually means unclothed, exposed or unembellished.

The adverb barely means only just or scarcely:

“The traffic was so bad we barely made it in time for the start of the show.”
“He makes barely enough to get by.”

Dead and deadly

Dead can be used as an adverb meaning absolutely or exactly:

“She looks dead certain of what she’s saying.”
“Drive dead straight or you’ll fall off the cliff.”

Conversely, deadly is most commonly used as an adjective meaning causing or wanting to cause death:

“They have a stock of deadly weapons.”
“We fought off a swarm of deadly bees.”

Free and freely

Both free and freely are adverbs (of course free has a whole range of meanings as an adjective, too.)

Free means without charge:

“Buy one get one free.”
“Eat free on your birthday.”

Both free and freely mean without restraint. There is no hard-and-fast rule as to how to distinguish between these two confusing adverbs but, generally speaking, free is used for an inanimate object to mean there is nothing holding it in place, whereas freely suggests an element of free will and is therefore used for people and animals:

“The chain hung free from the side of the ship.”
“We want you to feel able to speak freely in this meeting.”

Hard and hardly

Hard as an adverb means with great effort or force:

“He tried really hard to pass the test.”
“You need to push the button hard.”

Hardly – also an adverb – means almost not or only just:

“It was so foggy I could hardly see the road.”
“She has hardly spoken to me all day.”

Be careful of the difference here, because it completely changes the meaning:

“He works hard.” (he makes a good effort)
“He hardly works.” (he does almost no work)

High and highly

The adverb highly has nothing to do with physical height; it is most often used as an intensifier:

“I am highly impressed with your work.”
“The kids were highly disappointed with the clown’s performance.”

The adjective high and the adverb highly also both have meanings related to status and esteem:

“She’s a person of high standing in the community.”
“Everyone speaks highly of her.”

Late and lately

Late can be used as an adjective or an adverb to talk about not being on time:

“Why are you late?”
“She arrived late to the performance.”

The adverb lately has no link to punctuality; it actually means recently:

“I haven’t seen him in class lately.”
“Lately she’s been showing an interest in baking.”

Live and lively

This is another confusing adverb and adjective that appear to be the wrong way around.

Although live has many meanings as an adjective, it can also be used as an adverb meaning during the time of performance:

“The show was broadcast live.”

Lively looks like an adverb with its -ly ending but is actually more commonly an adjective meaning full of live or vigor:

“That was a lively performance.”
“I don’t know how you can be so lively after so little sleep.”

You can find many more adjectives that end in -ly here.

There is one specific phrase where lively is used as an adverb, and that is step lively, which means to move quickly or hurry up. This is quite an old-fashioned expression that you may only hear in old movies or TV shows.

Low and lowly

To make things even more confusing, lowly doesn’t follow the same pattern as highly. Lowly is a confusing adjective that means humble or simple:

“They live in a lowly house.”
“He was a president of lowly beginnings.”

Low can also be used as an adverb to mean close to the ground:

“He hung the swing low so the children could reach it.”
“I asked the pilot to fly low over the forest.”

Short and shortly

Short can be used as an adverb with several different meanings, but none of them relate to the adverb shortly, meaning soon:

“I’ll be leaving shortly.”
“Her grandmother died shortly after her grandfather.”

If you’d prefer to avoid this confusing adverb, try a different time transition word in its place.

Irregular adverbs that can also be adjectives

There are some words that can function as both an adverb and an adjective, making them irregular adverbs. Sometimes the meanings are related; sometimes not.

Word	Adjective meaning	Adverb meaning
Clean	Free from dirt E.g. Is that dress clean?	So as to be free from dirt E.g. This dress won’t wash clean.
Clear	Not obscured or cloudy E.g. The weather is clear today.	Away from; not in contact with E.g. Please stand clear of the doors.
Daily/weekly/monthly	Occurring every day/week/month E.g. This job offers weekly pay.	Every day/week/month E.g. I get paid weekly.
Early	Occurring before the expected or usual time E.g. We decided to take early retirement.	Before the expected or usual time E.g. We decided to retire early.
Far	Being at considerable distance; remote in time or place E.g. In the far future I may get married.	To, from, or at a considerable distance E.g. Don’t go too far from here.
Fast	Quick; swift E.g. I would love to own a fast car.	Quickly; swiftly E.g. You run fast!
Fine	Of superior quality or appearance E.g. That is a fine work of art.	Alright; quite well E.g. My job is going fine.
First (also second, third, etc.)	Coming before all others in order or location E.g. The first person to finish will receive a prize.	Before all others in order or location E.g. Who finished first in the race?
Half	Being one of two equal (or approximately equal) parts E.g. I’ll take a half portion today.	To the extent of approximately 50 percent E.g. This mug is half empty.
Hard	Requiring great effort or endurance E.g. That looks like hard work.	With strenuous effort E.g. They have been working hard all day.
Just	Honorable and fair E.g. I believe she is a just judge.	Exactly or precisely E.g. You have baked this cake just right.
Late	Occurring after the expected or usual time E.g. Let’s meet for a late breakfast tomorrow.	After the expected or usual time E.g. I will try not to arrive late.
Lively	Full of life or vigour E.g. They had a lively debate.	Briskly; hurriedly E.g. Step lively!
Low	Not tall or high E.g. Be careful of the low doorways.	In or to a low position or level E.g. He bowed low before the King.
Most	Greatest in number, amount, or degree E.g. Who has the most pencils?	To the highest degree or extent E.g. Your pencils are the most colorful.
Outside (also ‘inside’)	Situated on the exterior or outer side E.g. This house used to have an outside lavatory.	Outdoors E.g. Please wait outside for a moment.
Short	Having little height or length E.g. It’s difficult being a short person.	Abruptly; quickly E.g. The car stopped short, causing a collision.
Straight	Having no curves or bends E.g. Use a ruler to draw a straight line.	Immediately; without delay E.g. I must go straight home after the movie.

Most of these words have multiple definitions, making them even more confusing adjectives and adverbs. We have included the most common in this table; please refer to a dictionary for further information.

One notable irregular adverb that we haven’t covered here is well; the adverbial form of good.

Can you think of any other examples where adverbs are confusing? Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know.