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any member of a class of words that function as modifiers of verbs or clauses, and in some languages, as Latin and English, as modifiers of adjectives, other adverbs, or , as very in very nice, much in much more impressive, and tomorrow in She’ll write to you tomorrow. They relate to what they modify by indicating place (I promise to be there), time (Do your homework now!), manner (She sings beautifully), circumstance (He accidentally dropped the glass when the bell rang), degree (I’m very happy to see you), or cause (I draw, although badly).
See also .
Contemporary Examples

King says comics exist largely to eliminate the adverb, and that for Grayson, action is character.
The CIA Spook Turned Comic Book Scribe: Robin Grabs a Gun in ‘Grayson’ Rich Goldstein June 23, 2014

Historical Examples

Mistaking o for the adverb, meaning then, he altered speche into speke, spoiling the rhyme.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes Various

There seemed a dim, treacherous comfort in the adverb, and he stayed with her.
The Education of Eric Lane Stephen McKenna

Its function is the same as that of an adverb (promptly) or an adverbial phrase (on the stroke of the bell).
An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises George Lyman Kittredge

The participle may also have the character of an adjective, the adverb either of an adjective or of a preposition.
Cratylus Plato

By applying this rule you can always readily determine whether the word in question is an adverb or a preposition.
Plain English Marian Wharton

The position of the adverb should be as near as possible to the word it qualifies.
The Verbalist Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)

When an adverb like deinceps stands between an adjective and a noun, it has the value of an adjective.
Selections from Viri Romae Charles Franois L’Homond

It is not an instance of an adverb governed by a preposition.
A Handbook of the English Language Robert Gordon Latham

If the added word applies to the subject of the verb, it should be an adjective; if to the verb, it should be an adverb.
Practical Exercises in English Huber Gray Buehler

noun

a word or group of words that serves to modify a whole sentence, a verb, another adverb, or an adjective; for example, probably, easily, very, and happily respectively in the sentence They could probably easily envy the very happily married couple
(as modifier): an adverb marker

adv
n.

late 14c., from Late Latin adverbium “adverb,” literally “that which is added to a verb,” from ad- “to” (see ad-) + verbum “verb, word” (see verb). Coined by Flavius Sosipater Charisius as a translation of Greek epirrhema “adverb,” from epi- “upon, on” + rhema “verb.”

A part of speech that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs usually answer such questions as “How?” “Where?” “When?” or “To what degree?” The following italicized words are adverbs: “He ran well”; “She ran very well”; “The mayor is highly capable.”

Note: Adverbs are often formed by adding -ly to an adjective, as in truly or deeply.