adj

motherly

MUH-thuh-lee

adj

Warm, protective, and nurturing in the way typically associated with a mother.

"She gave the frightened boy a motherly hug."

"His motherly instincts kicked in the moment the baby cried."

How to Use Motherly

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishBehaving the way a caring mother would — gentle, protective, and nurturing.

Common pairings

motherly love motherly instinct motherly warmth

more motherly comparative, more motherly comparative, most motherly superlative, most motherly superlative

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She gave the frightened boy a _____ hug.

From Old English mōdorlīċ, built from mother plus the suffix -ly ("in the manner of").

overly miserly orderly elderly utterly eagerly Beverly Waverly fatherly properly westerly formerly