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That line refers to Beijing’s controversial claim over the majority of the South China Sea that its neighbors hotly dispute and which in 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled had no legal basis.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
25 June 2026 The whys behind players not wanting to play in Canada are varied and hotly debated, especially north of the border.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
23 June 2026 The announcement of Apple’s own smartphone had been hotly, even breathlessly, anticipated.—Literary Hub,
17 June 2026 Matt Damon may be suiting up with a Linothorax for Christopher Nolan’s hotly anticipated The Odyssey, but that doesn’t mean his run as a CIA agent suffering from dissociative amnesia has necessarily come to a close.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
13 June 2026 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