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

Global companies have cut thousands of jobs after investing heavily in AI, with many, primarily tech firms, pointing to higher efficiencies from the technology's rapid adoption. — Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026

Their claims, however, depend more heavily on models built from observations of only a small part of the moving sea. — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Despite prosecutors citing Bjornholt's criminal history in arguing for a larger bond, the judge said the state's preliminary evidence relied heavily on hearsay and set Bjornholt's bond at $100,000, according to FOX 10. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

The area is under the control of two heavily armed criminal groups, 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 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