as in actively
in a manner involving great or constant activity
the deadline is in two days, so everyone in the department has been working busily
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Recent Examples of busily
Getty Images—2026 Getty Images At the same time, Denmark has been busily bolstering its military presence in Greenland.
—
Lisa Abend, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
No matter what happens Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game between Indiana and Miami — a game that will be played in South Florida — Columbus will be busily celebrating the sight of alums hoisting the national championship trophy.
—CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
First-year Arkansas Coach Ryan Silverfield and staff are busily in the process of restocking the roster -- at quarterback and many key defensive positions -- through the portal, as has become the custom in recent years for the Razorbacks and the rest of the FBS.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 3 Jan. 2026
Sohn lived busily, working for a trading company in the 1980s and ’90s, even being deployed to California and Southeast Asia.
—Gawon Bae, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
One story of the Desert Fathers recounts a sighting of a demon perched on the top of the monastery, busily scribbling down all the faults of the brothers within.
—JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
In both cases, as the danger was spreading through the waters of the Florida reefs, scientists were busily yanking surviving corals out of the water and saving them in aquariums across the state.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
The center of the nebula plays host to a population of energetic young stars that are busily sculpting dense pillars of dust with their radiation.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
That has Eva Thomas, a writer and filmmaker from Walpole Island First Nation, busily working the room during an Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) breakfast at TIFF‘s Lightbox headquarters.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Lisa Abend, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
No matter what happens Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game between Indiana and Miami — a game that will be played in South Florida — Columbus will be busily celebrating the sight of alums hoisting the national championship trophy.
—CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
First-year Arkansas Coach Ryan Silverfield and staff are busily in the process of restocking the roster -- at quarterback and many key defensive positions -- through the portal, as has become the custom in recent years for the Razorbacks and the rest of the FBS.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 3 Jan. 2026
Sohn lived busily, working for a trading company in the 1980s and ’90s, even being deployed to California and Southeast Asia.
—Gawon Bae, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
One story of the Desert Fathers recounts a sighting of a demon perched on the top of the monastery, busily scribbling down all the faults of the brothers within.
—JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
In both cases, as the danger was spreading through the waters of the Florida reefs, scientists were busily yanking surviving corals out of the water and saving them in aquariums across the state.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
The center of the nebula plays host to a population of energetic young stars that are busily sculpting dense pillars of dust with their radiation.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025
That has Eva Thomas, a writer and filmmaker from Walpole Island First Nation, busily working the room during an Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) breakfast at TIFF‘s Lightbox headquarters.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for busily
Adverb
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Facing huge manpower pressures as its war in Ukraine nears the four-year mark, Russia actively promotes the participation of African recruits in its army as part of a broader PR narrative.—
Larry Madowo,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Mayhem executive producer Andrew Watt handled guitar, co-producer Cirkut played synth, Josh Freese drummed, and Gaga commanded two keyboards, actively tweaking sounds on a modular synthesizer.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
3 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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That’s why this travel writer has diligently combed through the Spanx sale section to pull the best picks aligned with Oprah’s comfortable travel clothing philosophy.—
Caroline Hughes,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Feb. 2026
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Sometimes, the major political battles in the Statehouse and the White House can distract local journalists from diligently following important stories like Turner’s.—
Ryan Martin,
IndyStar,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Busily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/busily. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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