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evenly

B1
Fairly common

Pronunciation

UK

  • /ˈiːvənli/

US

  • /ˈivənli/

Meanings

Adverb

  1. in equal amounts, shares, or degrees

  2. in a regular pattern across a surface or area

  3. in a steady, regular, or smooth manner

Beyond the definition

Imagine spreading frosting on a cake: you want it spread evenly, not with huge blobs in some spots and bare patches in others. "Evenly" describes something done or arranged so that parts are equal and consistent. You might share candy evenly among your friends, or a cook might heat food evenly so one side is not overdone while the other stays cold. It often suggests fairness and balance.

Think of a perfectly balanced seesaw with weight spread evenly. Or picture a line of soldiers marching evenly, each step the same length and in time with the others. If something is not done evenly, it may look uneven, feel unfair, or work badly. A good gardener waters plants evenly so they all have the same chance to grow well.

Examples

  1. 1

    Gardening

    Spread the seeds evenly over the soil.

  2. 2

    Cooking

    Cut the dough into six evenly sized pieces.

  3. 3

    Body position

    Stand with your weight evenly on both feet.

  4. 4

    Baking result

    The cookies didn’t bake evenly in the old oven.

More examples
  1. 5

    Shared costs

    We split the bill evenly after dinner.

  2. 6

    Time balance

    She tries to divide her time evenly between work and family.

  3. 7

    Competition

    The two players were evenly matched.

    • Phraseevenly matched

      equally strong or skilled

  4. 8

    Calm speech

    He answered evenly, without sounding angry.

    • Patternanswer evenly

      speak in a calm, steady way

See also

Similar

Shades of meaning

Contrast

Used with (collocations)

  • spread evenly
  • distributed evenly
  • spaced evenly
  • divide evenly

Word family

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Forms and spellings

1 form open this card.

Main spelling

  • evenlyadverb