heavily

adverb

heavi·​ly ˈhe-və-lē How to pronounce heavily (audio)
1
: to a great degree : severely
2
: slowly and laboriously : dully
3
archaic : with sorrow : grievously
4
: in a heavy manner

Examples of heavily in a Sentence

He relies heavily on his wife for advice. These artists borrow heavily from Picasso. Our flowers were heavily damaged by a late spring frost. She drank and smoked heavily for years. He sat down heavily on the couch. He was leaning heavily on the table. She sighed heavily then said “Okay, I'll do it.”
Recent Examples on the Web Another potential problem could be the argument that sales tax increases fall more heavily on low-income residents than property tax or parcel tax increases or local income taxes. David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2024 The case against Jennifer focused heavily on her personal life, digging into her voluminous text messages, her relationship with her son and even her extramarital affair. Eric Levenson, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 New Hampshire and Rhode Island are not located near large rivers, and the Colorado River is heavily managed and difficult to access from Arizona, Cherkauer said. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2024 Garland also added that America’s massive availability of guns wasn’t a factor in setting the film here (despite guns being heavily used in the film). James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2024 Secondly, a trial defeat in a past campaign finance case weighed heavily on federal officials’ minds. Devlin Barrett, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 The defense alleges that Morrissey relied heavily on the state’s expert witness, Bryan Carpenter, who, according to the motion, stated that the actor was responsible for safe handling of firearms. Gene Maddaus, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 In ramping up its internet crackdown, Russia has taken cues from China, where the internet is heavily restricted and social media is closely monitored. Aaron Krolik, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 An area resident hunting for mushrooms reportedly found his body near a roadway in a heavily wooded area in the 7000 block of East Holder Road in Washington County, 25 miles northwest of Louisville. The Courier-Journal, 15 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heavily.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of heavily was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near heavily

Cite this Entry

“Heavily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heavily. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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