aˈttentively, adv.
Also 4–6 -ifly, -ifely.
[orig. a variant of the earlier ententively, assimilated to L. attentè; in later usage f. attentive + -ly2. Cf. aphet. tentively.]
With attention; with steady application of mind, energies, or senses; with careful consideration; observantly, heedfully.
| 1382 Wyclif Joshua xxii. 5 That ȝe kepen attentifly [Vulg. attente]..the maundement. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 39 The wyseman thenketh on the wele of his saule..attentyuely. 1659 Gentl. Call. (1696) 2 A Manual..frequently and attentively perused. |
| 1790 Boswell Johnson (1848) 228/2 He listened to it very attentively. 1876 Green Short Hist. vi. §4 (1882) 312 The physical aspects of society were cared for as attentively as its moral. |