importantly

adverb

im·por·tant·ly im-ˈpȯr-tᵊnt-lē

especially Southern US and New England -tənt-,

-dənt-

—used to say that what follows in a sentence is important

… much more importantly he stands a chance of having his publication barred …—

H. L. Mencken

: in an important way

… contributed importantly to the language of the field.—

Ernst Mayr

… the real story is importantly different from the one surmised.—

Alexander Woollcott

: in a self-important or pompous manner

… he talked importantly of the managerial position he had reached, after a lifetime of devotion and toil …—

William Trevor

Importantly vs. Important: Usage Guide

A number of commentators have objected to importantly as a sentence modifier (the use defined above at sense 1) and have recommended important instead. Actually, both the adverb and the adjective are in reputable standard use in this function. Important is always used with more or most.

had bronze weapons and composite bows; more important, they utilized the horse and war chariot —

Harry A. Gailey, Jr.

second and most important, the book contains no important woman character —

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Importantly is commonly used in similar contexts, but it is somewhat more flexible in not requiring more or most.

sticks and, just as importantly, unsticks easily —

Phoebe Hawkins

importantly, the leaven in the mixture is quality —

George O'Brien

Examples of importantly in a Sentence

Her research has contributed importantly to our understanding of the disease. He strutted to and fro importantly, ordering everybody around.

Recent Examples on the Web Most importantly, the Cheese Curd Capital of the World? —

Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 15 July 2024 Popular on Variety That all three films arrived with laurels from Sundance and Berlin – and, perhaps more importantly, with both Swiss and U.S. distribution secured – reflects the growing pride of place for elevated genre fare in festival selections and in the marketplace. —

Ben Croll, Variety, 14 July 2024 But more importantly, so did the story of Bert Sproston helping Ralph Freeman in his bid to leave Nazi Germany. —

Thomas Schlachter, CNN, 13 July 2024 More importantly, humidity isn’t as high, with dew points in the mid-60s versus yesterday’s mid-70s. —

David Streit, Washington Post, 11 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for importantly

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'importantly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.