hotly

adverb

hot·​ly ˈhät-lē How to pronounce hotly (audio)
: in a hot manner
a hotly contested series

Examples of hotly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Skin category winners are probably the most difficult to choose and definitely the most hotly debated, but after months of thorough testing (and retesting), in the end, our editors came to a consensus on which cleansers, creams, peels, and spot treatments offer the most impressive results. Sophia Panych, Allure, 16 Sep. 2025 Other major bills were still being hotly debated. Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025 Brown is above all an action writer, and his hero, Robert Langdon, is continually in hot pursuit of whoever is hotly pursuing him, whether in Florence, Rome, Barcelona or some other popular tourist destination. Book Marks september 11, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2025 Pros and cons are hotly debated. Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hotly

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hotly was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hotly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hotly. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on hotly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!