different between involuntarily vs absently

English

Etymology

involuntary +? -ly

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?n?v?l?n?t???li/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?n?v?l?nt??li/
• Hyphenation: in?vol?un?ta?ri?ly

Adverb

involuntarily (comparative more involuntarily, superlative most involuntarily)

1. In an involuntary manner; done without conscious thought.

   Her leg twitched involuntarily.

   He involuntarily overheard the conversation.

Translations

References

• involuntarily in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• involuntarily in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

absent +? -ly

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?æb.sn?t.li/

Adverb

absently (comparative more absently, superlative most absently)

1. In an absent-minded or abstracted manner. [From the late 18^th century.]
   • 1773, P.L.B., “A Character,” The Sentimental Magazine, June, 1773, p. 179,^[1]

     When he is in company he will sit absently muttering over a heap of Arabick, or in a Ciceronian attitude, declaim with all the vehemency of eloquence […]

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Phase the Fourth, Chapter 34,^[2]

     […] his wife, flinging a shawl round her, had come to the outer room and was listening to the man's narrative, her eyes resting absently on the luggage and the drops of rain glistening upon it.

   • 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas, Penguin, 1992, Part One, Chapter 1, p. 38,^[3]

     Absently, he picked a dew-wet leaf from the hibiscus shrub, crushed it in his palm, put it in his mouth and came towards her, chewing.

Synonyms

• absent-mindedly
• abstractedly

Related terms

• absentee