as in strongly
in a vigorous and forceful manner
stomped his feet firmly to get the snow off his boots
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Recent Examples of firmly
Instead, dip a cloth or cotton balls in acetone and blot firmly on the remaining polish.
—
Emily Benda Gaylord, The Spruce, 11 Jan. 2026
His other go-to bogeyman, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is now firmly in his lame-duck era as his term ends this spring.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026
Top firmly with the lid and shake well, until the exterior of the cup feels cold and almost icy.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Jan. 2026
Weir stood, firmly but unassumingly, at the center of all the best trips.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Jennifer Lopez seems to be firmly in her showgirl era.
—Meg Walters, InStyle, 11 Jan. 2026
The mixed reaction for a player so firmly entrenched in Pittsburgh — Heyward's 228 regular-season games with the club rank second to former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — was not.
—CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
All of the signees are Republicans, as almost all Democrat lawmakers across the nation have remained firmly in support of allowing biological males to compete in girls' and women's sports.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
The jam band movement had taken shape, and Weir would remain firmly a part of it.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
Emily Benda Gaylord, The Spruce, 11 Jan. 2026
His other go-to bogeyman, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, is now firmly in his lame-duck era as his term ends this spring.
—Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 11 Jan. 2026
Top firmly with the lid and shake well, until the exterior of the cup feels cold and almost icy.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Jan. 2026
Weir stood, firmly but unassumingly, at the center of all the best trips.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 11 Jan. 2026
Jennifer Lopez seems to be firmly in her showgirl era.
—Meg Walters, InStyle, 11 Jan. 2026
The mixed reaction for a player so firmly entrenched in Pittsburgh — Heyward's 228 regular-season games with the club rank second to former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — was not.
—CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
All of the signees are Republicans, as almost all Democrat lawmakers across the nation have remained firmly in support of allowing biological males to compete in girls' and women's sports.
—Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026
The jam band movement had taken shape, and Weir would remain firmly a part of it.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 10 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for firmly
Adverb
-
Therefore, seeing multiple green aircraft together strongly suggests serial (repeat) production, not one-off prototypes.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The United Arab Emirates has been accused by human rights groups of directly supplying the RSF with weaponry, an allegation the country strongly denied, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt have allied with the SAF.—
ByGuy Davies,
ABC News,
9 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The vines climb to about 6 feet tall, growing vigorously even through summer heat.—
Miranda Crowell,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Prevost asks the new Pope, and the two men, beaming, shake hands vigorously.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Even if someone were able to go in and forcibly clean out her apartment, it could just get hoarded again.—
Clio Chang,
Curbed,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Dressed in athleisure, Maduro appears composed, almost casual—closer to a figure en route to a tennis match than one forcibly removed from power.—
Debbie Millman,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Stevens said the loss of Lea’e’s father hit the team hard.—
John Maffei,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Worse, the tariff burden is a regressive tax that falls hardest on lower-income households and small businesses with less bargaining power.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an organization that frequently advocates for free speech on college campuses, has vehemently denounced the school’s decision to alter Peterson’s syllabus, claiming the university’s decision violates the First Amendment.—
Samuel O'Neal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Uhlfelder vehemently disagreed, writing back that Kitchen and Mattox had been listed on all the court paperwork.—
Dan Sullivan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Americans argued fiercely about whether to intervene abroad, but largely shared the same moral vocabulary.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Coleman will play Cheyenne Barnes, a fiercely confident hairstylist whose bold sexuality and razor-sharp wit command attention, masking the emotional scars she’s carried for years.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
5 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Firmly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/firmly. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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