unwarily

English

Etymology

unwary + -ly

Adverb

unwarily (comparative more unwarily, superlative most unwarily)

  1. In an unwary manner.
    • 1595, Edmund Spenser, Amoretti,
      One day as I unwarily did gaze
      On those fayre eyes, my loves immortall light;
      The whiles my stonisht hart stood in amaze,
      Through sweet illusion of her lookes delight;
    • c. 1596, William Shakespeare, King John, Act V, Scene 7,
      For in a night the best part of my power,
      As I upon advantage did remove,
      Were in the Washes all unwarily
      Devoured by the unexpected flood.
    • 1681, John Dryden, “Absalom and Achitophel” lines 309-312,
      Th’ Ambitious Youth, too Covetous of Fame,
      Too full of Angels Metal in his Frame,
      Unwarily was led from Vertues ways,
      Made Drunk with Honour, and debauch’d with Praise.
    • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, Chapter 42,
      [] the rest of the morning was easily whiled away, [] in dawdling through the green-house, where the loss of her favourite plants, unwarily exposed, and nipped by the lingering frost, raised the laughter of Charlotte []
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.