This paper provides an analysis of the semantic features of qualitative adverbs in ‑telno, based on the evidence from the 19th century Russian psychological prose. In particular, the study examines the expansion of adverb semantics from the
direct meaning to the figurative one and the development of the abstract meaning of intensifier in adverbs being in the ad-adjectival position. At the same time, some specific examples show that during the transition to the category of intensifiers the qualitative meaning of adverbs could be partially preserved.