freshly
- 01 B1 Intermediate
very recently or just a short time ago.
occurring or performed very recently. Often used as a modifier before a past participle to form a compound adjective.
Simple“The smell of freshly baked bread filled the entire house.”
In context“The scent of freshly mown grass drifted through the open window, signaling the start of the summer maintenance schedule.”
UsageCommonly precedes a past participle, such as 'freshly painted' or 'freshly squeezed'.
Antonymspreviouslylong ago - 02 C2 Proficiency
in a way that is rude or shows a lack of respect.
behaving in an impertinent, cheeky, or disrespectful manner.
Simple“The child spoke freshly to his teacher and was sent to the office.”
In context“He was reprimanded for acting freshly with the supervisor during the morning briefing.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is much less common than the 'recently' sense and is primarily found in older American English contexts.
SynonymsAntonyms
From Middle English freschely, freschliche (also as ferscheli, fersly, ferselich), equivalent to fresh + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.