<adv.all> spread the margarine thinly over the meat apply paint lightly
to a slight degree
<adv.all> her speech is only lightly accented
Lightly \Light"ly\, adv. 1. With little weight; with little force; as, to tread lightly; to press lightly.
Yet shall thy grave with rising flowers be drest, And the green turf lie lightly on thy breast. --Pope.
Him thus intent Ithuriel with his spear Touched lightly. --Milton.
2. Swiftly; nimbly; with agility.
So mikle was that barge, it might not lightly sail. --R. of Brunne.
Watch what thou seest and lightly bring me word. --Tennyson.
3. Without deep impression.
The soft ideas of the cheerful note, Lightly received, were easily forgot. --Prior.
4. In a small degree; slightly; not severely.
At the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun . . . and afterward did more grievously afflict her. --Is. ix. 1.
5. With little effort or difficulty; easily; readily.
That lightly come, shall lightly go. --Old Proverb.
They come lightly by the malt, and need not spare it. --Sir W. Scott.
6. Without reason, or for reasons of little weight.
Flatter not the rich, neither do thou willingly or lightly appear before great personages. --Jer. Taylor.
7. Commonly; usually. [Obs.] --Bp. Fisher.
The great thieves of a state are lightly the officers of the crown. --B. Jonson.
8. Without dejection; cheerfully. ``Seeming to bear it lightly.'' --Shak.
9. Without heed or care; with levity; gayly; airily.
Matrimony . . . is not by any to be enterprised, nor taken in hand, unadvisedly, lightly, or wantonly. --Book of Common Prayer [Eng. Ed.].
10. Not chastely; wantonly. --Swift.
"It's a major piece of legislation that cannot be looked on lightly," the governor said, announcing he would consult unidentified outside experts.
He stressed that UN commanders on the ground would have to give the go-ahead first. But Mr Major stressed that while every Nato country was prepared to use force, no government would take the decision lightly.
"I think it's being taken lightly, like a joke, rather than a serious attempt at making contact," Young said Monday.
Much of the raw manpower consists of basij, or lightly trained volunteers.
No-one treats philandering so lightly today. Frisby has changed too: out with the frivolous, in with the serious.
The crewmembers remain angry at the American military's failure to protect the lightly armed vessel or to come to its aid.
"It's not an easy thing for a woman to take this action and I don't think anyone was taking this lightly or doing this vindictively or maliciously," said Lisa Billowitz of Brown Against Sexual Assault and Harassment, or BASH.
Long-term, things look extremely good.' Leeds certainly seems to have got off lightly.
They flower freely on pergolas in Somerset or up the front of sunny houses in London, showing small roses whose double flowers are the colour of lightly scrambled egg.
While age and illness have forced her to slow down, she does not allow herself any time off. Mother Teresa does not carry her burden lightly.
Work was only lightly dealt with.
We must flood the earth with the Book of Mormon _ and get out from under God's condemnation for having treated it lightly," Benson said.
About 30 people spent the night at the high school in High Island, a lightly populated fishing and resort community midway between Port Arthur and Galveston.
Rep. Jim Wright's financial disclosure statement, released on the eve of a crucial hearing into his alleged rules violations, touches only lightly if at all on money deals that led the ethics committee to charge the House speaker.
"It's not something we would contemplate lightly, and it's not an ideal solution," a company spokesman said.
The limit is being kept to between 17 per cent and 21 per cent. So why does Mrs Virginia Bottomley, health secretary, appear to have let the industry off so lightly?
The Darby study also skates lightly over a substantial body of evidence suggesting that the public sharply increased its demand for money balances in response to the decline of inflation and interest rates in the early and mid-1980s.
The only surprise in the Top 10 was the appearance of lightly regarded "13 East," which finished 10th.
Trim all visible fat from the oxtail and discard all but one wadge. Spike this with a fork and rub it over the base of the warmed pot to grease it. Colour the oxtail lightly all over, in batches.
There is another reason for both Republican presidential nominee Bush and Democratic nominee Dukakis to tread lightly on the thrift crisis.
Betty White, who won three years ago for her "Golden Girls" role, said of her third nomination for best actress in a comedy series: "I don't take it lightly.
But they say the danger should not be taken lightly.
Then Williams lightly set Atlantis on the clay runway where it rolled to a stop on the black-dotted centerline.
Oil lightly the base of a second steamer basket, lay the fish in it skin side down, and season with salt and pepper. Bring the stock to the boil and stir in the soaked and drained rice.
He jumped high and landed lightly and securely.
Lay the fish, skinned side up, on a grid laid across the gratin dish in which you will serve it, and grill for about 4 minutes under moderate heat. Turn the salmon, then sprinkle and press the savoury breadcrumbs lightly over it.
But Mr. Greenspan is not a man who uses words lightly.
Some veteran traders have said they believe the lightly traded MMI futures contract was manipulated by a handful of major firms as part of a desperate effort to prop up stock prices.
If the job requires more than a single coat, sand lightly in between coats.
It was also decided to send a small contingent of lightly armed infantry as protection.