pleasantly

• pleasauntlie, plesantlie, pleasauntly, plesantly, plesauntly (all obsolete)

From Middle English pleasauntly; equivalent to pleasant +‎ -ly.

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɛzəntli/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Hyphenation: pleas‧ant‧ly

pleasantly (comparative more pleasantly, superlative most pleasantly)

1. In a pleasant manner; so as to achieve a pleasant result.

   He smiled pleasantly at passersby.

   They were pleasantly surprised at the result.

2. (degree) Lightly
3. (obsolete) Ludicrously; facetiously.
   • 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “ch. 1, Midas”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, (please specify |book=I or IV, or the page):

     In workhouses, pleasantly so named, because work cannot be done in them.

   • 1864 May – 1865 November, Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1865, →OCLC:

     Mr Venus, reminded of the duties of hospitality, produced some rum. In answer to the inquiry, 'Will you mix it, Mr Wegg?' that gentleman pleasantly rejoined, 'I think not, sir. On so auspicious an occasion, I prefer to take it in the form of a Gum-Tickler.'

• pleasantly in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.