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
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
As his lead attorney, Howard Srebnick, was minutes into his opening statements, Pino began crying, shaking and breathing heavily.
—
David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 12 June 2026
In heavily Democratic Washington, the general election outcome is typically not competitive.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 12 June 2026
Some of the best analyses of the financial ramifications of all this can be found in the DealBook newsletter, which notes that SpaceX is now essentially an AI company, and as such will have to spend heavily to catch up to Anthropic and OpenAI.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Several homes were destroyed, multiple cars were heavily damaged, and debris was scattered across the city after the storms ripped through.
—Darius Johnson, CBS News, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for heavily
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David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 12 June 2026
In heavily Democratic Washington, the general election outcome is typically not competitive.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 12 June 2026
Some of the best analyses of the financial ramifications of all this can be found in the DealBook newsletter, which notes that SpaceX is now essentially an AI company, and as such will have to spend heavily to catch up to Anthropic and OpenAI.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 12 June 2026
Several homes were destroyed, multiple cars were heavily damaged, and debris was scattered across the city after the storms ripped through.
—Darius Johnson, CBS News, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for heavily
Cite this Entry
“Heavily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heavily. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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