Meaning of それなりに


> ダドリーがドタドタと、それなりに全速力でやってきた。  
>  Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could (original text).

Most references suggest that それなりに means 'in its own way'.

This might be a grey area, but does それなりに全速力で really mean "as fast as he
could"? Literally I think it means "with a maximum speed which is unique to
him" which you might argue means "as fast as possible" but I don't really
think so.

What nuance does それなりに actually give in this sentence? Would there be a
difference if I substituted それなりに with なるべく or できるだけ?




I think interpreting それなり as _in its own way_ or _given the constraints_ as
jogloran's answer should be fine.

In general, それなり means _moderately_ and kind of diminishes what it modifies.
E.g.

  * それなりに分かった I understood to an extent (but not completely)
  * それなりに面白い moderately/mildly interesting/amusing (it's ok, but not super)

So, それなりに in the sentence puts a reservation on 全速力で, as in _as fast as
possible, but to the moderate extent_. If this is odd in English, in Japanese
somehow it works. I suppose 全速力で is understood practically as _very fast_ ,
and それなりに全速力で as _very fast as is possible by Dudley_. In this sense, それなりに
relativizes the maximum (speed).

* * *

できるだけ would be odd here. It would sound redundant to 全速力で, which already
contains the "as much as" sense. できるだけ速く is ok (although I feel できるだけはやく more
often means できるだけ早く=as early as possible).

なるべく won't fit here either. It typically comes with a request or ようにした as seen
in [these examples](https://j-nihongo.com/narubeku/).




I think interpreting それなり as _in its own way_ or _given the constraints_ as
jogloran's answer should be fine.

In general, それなり means _moderately_ and kind of diminishes what it modifies.
E.g.

  * それなりに分かった I understood to an extent (but not completely)
  * それなりに面白い moderately/mildly interesting/amusing (it's ok, but not super)

So, それなりに in the sentence puts a reservation on 全速力で, as in _as fast as
possible, but to the moderate extent_. If this is odd in English, in Japanese
somehow it works. I suppose 全速力で is understood practically as _very fast_ ,
and それなりに全速力で as _very fast as is possible by Dudley_. In this sense, それなりに
relativizes the maximum (speed).

* * *

できるだけ would be odd here. It would sound redundant to 全速力で, which already
contains the "as much as" sense. できるだけ速く is ok (although I feel できるだけはやく more
often means できるだけ早く=as early as possible).

なるべく won't fit here either. It typically comes with a request or ようにした as seen
in [these examples](https://j-nihongo.com/narubeku/).

