sternly

«sternly» in Mova's school dictionary: In a strict, serious and unsmiling way, often when… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adverb (sternly)

meaning for a pupil

In a strict, serious and unsmiling way, often when someone has done wrong. tree →

sense in the lessons

A voice and face word in stories and school: a teacher looks sternly over her glasses; a parent speaks sternly. In The Wind in the Willows Badger speaks sternly to Toad about his motor cars; in Alice in Wonderland the Queen of Hearts and the Duchess speak sternly. It tells the reader there is trouble.

examples

• «Sit down,» said the teacher sternly. tree →
• Badger looked sternly at Toad. tree →
• Dad sternly reminded us to look both ways. tree →
• The judge spoke sternly to the thief. tree →
• She frowned sternly at the muddy boots. tree →
• The sign sternly warned: No Swimming. tree →
• “You know it now,” the king replied sternly. tree →

note

Adverb from «stern» (sterner, sternest). Do not confuse with the noun «stern», the back part of a boat (Rat sat in the stern).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «sternly» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.