heavily

adverb

heavi·​ly ˈhe-və-lē 

1

: to a great degree : severely

The building was heavily damaged.

The decision weighs heavily on my mind. [=is very difficult and worrisome]

2

: slowly and laboriously : dully

sighed heavily

3

archaic : with sorrow : grievously

4

: in a heavy manner

sat down heavily

Synonyms of heavily

• extremely
• highly
• terribly
• very
• incredibly
• badly
• severely
• too
• so
• intensely
• greatly
• damned
• desperately
• really
• damn
• seriously
• wildly
• far
• much
• especially
• most

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

Sunderland, of course, spent heavily last season after coming up from the Championship, and there is a broad consensus that promoted teams need to do so to quickly bring their squads up to scratch. — Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Those states invested heavily in soundstages, developed skilled local crews, and created competitive incentive packages (up to 30 percent in Georgia and 40 percent in Louisiana). — Sam Roseme, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026

First glimpsed in The Empire Strikes Back and heavily featured in Return of the Jedi are typical of the Empire; designed to instil fear, but laughably impractical. — Chris McMullen, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026

Treasury yields have jumped in recent weeks, along with those of other heavily indebted countries like France. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing heavily

• heavily armed

Rhymes for heavily

• evilly