qui ‧ et ‧ ly S3 W3 /ˈkwaɪətli/ BrE AmE adverb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ quiet , ↑ disquiet , ↑ quietness , ↑ quietism , ↑ quietude ; verb : ↑ quieten , ↑ quiet ; adverb : ↑ quietly ; adjective : ↑ quiet ]
1 . without making much noise:
Rosa shut the door quietly.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said quietly.
a quietly-spoken man (=one who always speaks quietly)
2 . in a way that does not attract attention:
The mayor had been aiming to quietly turn over control of the city’s water to private business interests.
The government hoped that their early mishandling of the crisis could be quietly forgotten.
3 . without protesting, complaining, or fighting:
Now are you gonna come quietly, or do I have to use force?
Speculation is growing that Grogan will be replaced at the end of the season, and he is unlikely to go quietly.
4 . quietly confident especially British English fairly confident of success, but without talking proudly about it:
Adam came out of the interview feeling quietly confident.