as in viciously
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of abusively
Instead, the justices suggested that the board should propose a state law that could impose penalties, such as reductions in attorneys’ fees, for lawyers who act abusively.
—
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2026
When Rabbit asks to be the one to adopt Stacey after her graduation, Evelyn abusively rejects the notion and Rabbit is crushed.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2026
When Rabbit asks to be the one to adopt Stacey after her graduation, Evelyn abusively rejects the notion and Rabbit is crushed.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abusively
Adverb
-
The dictator’s successor, Ion Iliescu, viciously crushed pro-democracy demonstrations.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
In other words, the fashion and interior design pendulum has viciously swung back about two decades.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Often apologizing in between bites, Beard, 40, eats savagely with his hands, squeezing food and mashing it into his mouth.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
6 Apr. 2026
-
This remote one-road knuckle of land on Scotland’s northwest coast, long known as the Rough Bounds, is defined by its savagely wild terrain.—
Jen Murphy,
Robb Report,
4 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Instead of The Expanse’s sprawling epic of humanity’s journey to the stars, The Captive’s War sees humans brought under the thumb of a ruthlessly controlling alien empire and struggling to resist, build lives and maybe even find a way to win.—
Sarah Lewin Frasier,
Scientific American,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The Apollo program was centrally planned and ruthlessly methodical.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Building Alligator Alcatraz and being proud of treating people inhumanely while at the same time stealing money for his charity is disgusting.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The oversight tour came after activists alleged detainees were being treated inhumanely at the facility.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The bulk of people experiencing emergency levels of hunger live in Haiti’s northwest region, including Artibonite, which gangs have mercilessly attacked in recent years, razing communities and destroying farmland.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The fans mercilessly booed Shohei Ohtani, who turned down $700 million from the Blue Jays to take $700 million from the Dodgers, and outfielder Kyle Tucker, who turned down $350 million (over 10 years) from the Blue Jays to take $240 million (over four years) from the Dodgers.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Residents were treated carelessly, disrespectfully, insensitively.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In this volatile environment, comments that appear to minimize or frame the shooting insensitively—like Matt Gutman's—can quickly become career-ending.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
The heartbroken mother of a 15-year-old boy who was beaten and fatally shot inside a Queens park as dozens of teens callously filmed the slaying on their phones condemned his killer — and those who did nothing but watch him die.—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Marley’s level of fame and influence meant that, after his death at 36, his legacy, his spirit, his brand was to be shaped by a record industry that could be callously indifferent to truth or quality at the expense of revenue.—
Eric Harvey,
Pitchfork,
18 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Now my son is dead after suffering unmercifully.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abusively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abusively. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
