thankfully
- 1Fortunately; in a way one is glad or relieved about how something turned out.
Thankfully, the storm passed without causing any damage to the coast.
No passengers were aboard at the time, thankfully, when the ferry struck the rocks.
Similarfortunately, luckily, mercifully, happily
Oppositeunfortunately, sadly, regrettably, unluckily
Note
The sentence adverb comments on a whole statement, not on how anyone acted. Some careful writers object to it, as they do to the disjunct use of hopefully, so in formal prose fortunately is the safer choice. Position and punctuation tell the two uses apart: Thankfully, he accepted (relief, set off by a comma) versus he thankfully accepted, the "with gratitude" use Fielding wrote in Tom Jones (1749).
- 2In a manner that shows gratitude; while giving thanks.
He bowed his head and accepted the award thankfully.
The villagers prayed thankfully after the long drought finally broke.
Similargratefully, appreciatively
Oppositeungratefully
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
From Middle English "thankfully," from Old English "þancfullīċe," equivalent to "thankful" plus the suffix "-ly."