importantly

adverb

im·por·tant·ly | \ im-ˈpȯr-tᵊnt-lē

, especially Southern US and New England -tənt-, -dənt- \

Definition of importantly

1 —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

2a : 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

b : 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 More Example Sentences Learn More about importantly

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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 How many [new customer] starts are sticking, and, importantly, at what price? — John Holland, baltimoresun.com, "Maryland businessman and his partner up the stakes in quest to buy The Baltimore Sun’s parent company," 6 Apr. 2021 Most importantly, the North American partnership has powered job creation. — Fortune, "North American partnership is key to defeating COVID and accelerating recovery," 5 Apr. 2021 Most importantly, Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and newbie boyfriend Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) get engaged during a scene that will bring happy tears to your eyes. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "Lexie & [Redacted] Came Back To Grey’s Anatomy & Changed Everything," 5 Apr. 2021 Over time, Jonathan built a business that catered to the needs of folks looking for retro games and console repairs—but, most importantly, his business flourished through large community events like midnight releases and in-store tournaments. — Gabriel Solis, Wired, "Independent Video Game Stores Are Here to Stay," 5 Apr. 2021 Most importantly, both experienced weightlessness, with Lecomte’s time in the water considered a good proxy for authentic zero-g. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, "Space Can Take a Nasty Toll On An Astronaut's Heart, Study Finds," 2 Apr. 2021 Most importantly, the amount of K-12 aid can’t be used to pay for state and local cuts to school funding. — Michael Addonizio, The Conversation, "America gets a D+ for school infrastructure - but federal COVID relief could pay for many repairs," 2 Apr. 2021 Most importantly for hiring purposes, Beard’s contract buyout on Thursday dropped from $5 million to $4 million. — San Antonio Express-News, "Reports: Texas preparing to hire Texas Tech's Chris Beard," 1 Apr. 2021 Perhaps most importantly, Sojourner demonstrated the successful use of the first wheeled rover vehicle on another planet. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Ingenuity Mars helicopter: The historic journey to fly on another planet," 1 Apr. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'importantly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.