hotly

adverb

hot·​ly ˈhät-lē 

: in a hot manner

a hotly contested series

Examples of hotly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The issue of whether or not Kalshi and Polymarket’s sports offerings are legal is being hotly litigated in dozens of states and, so far, courts are for the most part ruling against the company. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2026

The reasons for this planet-wide drop in procreation, however, are hard to pin down and hotly debated, and, like most other big questions in the United States, they have been absorbed into larger culture-war arguments. — Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2026

The need for guardrails in the college game is precisely why Congress has become a battleground for paying college athletes, culminating in the Save College Sports Act which has been hotly debated on both sides of the political aisle. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026

The likelihood and capability of AI’s destructive power is hotly debated and inconclusive. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above