intently

adverb

in·​tent·​ly in-ˈtent-lē 

: in an intent or concentrated manner : with great effort, attention, or concentration

Their eyes, when they look at you and listen intently, focus like laser beams.

—Molly Haskell

He turned back to face her again and stared at her most intently.

—Robert C. O'Brien

Synonyms of intently

• hard
• intensively
• intensely
• diligently
• resolutely
• determinedly
• continuously
• doggedly
• arduously
• assiduously
• purposefully
• industriously

Examples of intently in a Sentence

intently studied his notes just before the exam

Recent Examples on the Web

Dressed in beige prison outfits and separated from each other by their lawyers, Maduro and his wife wore headsets to hear the translation of the proceedings into Spanish and appeared to be listening intently as the arguments were presented. —Adam Reiss, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026

As Truell takes a Zoom call, the image of Caro—legendary biographer of Lyndon Johnson and Robert Moses, known for his exhaustive, decades-long research—looms over his shoulder, sweatered, bespectacled, writing intently. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 24 Mar. 2026

Two men focus intently on each other, standing 60 feet apart. —Michel A. Ibrahim, Baltimore Sun, 22 Mar. 2026

The adults in the room listened intently. —Zach Berman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for intently

• gently