HEAVILY Synonyms: 138 Similar and Opposite Words

heavily

adverb

ˈhe-və-lē

Definition of heavily

as in extremely

to a great degree heavily spiced sausage the family was heavily in debt

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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 heavily The styles of the regency era pulled heavily from the classics, referencing the soft, romantic texture of Greek goddesses. — Elle Turner, Glamour, 11 Oct. 2026 Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive Democrat seeking Michigan’s open Senate seat, is drawing national attention as Republicans spend heavily to portray him as dangerously radical. — Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026 The result is a country spending heavily to sustain its public institutions while struggling to deliver the services citizens expect and a political system increasingly consumed by conflict over how to fix them. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026 How many other Nebraska towns depend heavily on one major employer? — Jesse E. Stanley, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heavily

Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavily

Adverb

Experts attribute the extremely warm ocean temperatures that fueled Rachel, which peaked as a Category 3 hurricane, in part to El Niño.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
All this makes the Home app very easy to use, but extremely underpowered.

— Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, The Verge, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of extremely

Adverb

Authorities in both countries were investigating the cyber incidents, which exposed vulnerabilities in some older refrigeration management systems and in the countries' highly efficient food supply chains.

— JOHN LEICESTER, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Cell-depleting therapies, which are generally considered highly effective treatments, target and remove specific immune cells.

— Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of highly

Adverb

Another issue is that AI detectors are still not terribly reliable, which Vara addresses in her piece, citing a number of studies to bolster the credentials of Pangram.

— James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Probably nothing too terribly bad, especially since Denver has done it without much offensive consistency.

— Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of terribly

Adverb

One of the other things that Claude noticed was that these array of associated reverse transcriptases seem to be isolated to jumbo phages, which have very large genomes for bacteriophage.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
There’s very few cases where a fan actually gets to stand beside the man and add onto the man’s legacy.

— Christine Imarenezor, VIBE.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of very

Adverb

Indeed, the diamond was quite an exquisite addition, considering that such gemstones over 10 carats are incredibly rare.

— Julia Teti, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
For now, this perfect mix of burgeoning youth and senior leadership has come together to create an incredibly deep team with big dreams.

— Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of incredibly

Adverb

The Anthropic report is the latest warning issued by the company concerning rogue AI agents operating on their own and sometimes behaving badly.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Although the house is still standing, the interior was left so badly damaged that the family can no longer live there.

— Joan Murray, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of badly

Adverb

The movie offered a sly critique of Korea’s rapid urbanization, and introduced the wayward types (bar girls, severely disabled men) that would populate all of Lee’s films.

— E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
The wars severely tarnished the United States’ global reputation and left a generation of Americans skeptical that the country could be a force for good in the world.

— Philip H. Gordon, Foreign Affairs, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of severely

Adverb

There were some surprises in the rankings, too, with the Fendi Spy bag seeing a 127 percent spike in average resale value amid this year’s Y2K revival.

— Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
But while fans wait to see what happens, Davies, despite no longer being involved in the show, assured that a new series was definitely happening and there wouldn’t be too long to wait.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of too

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heavies

heavily

heaviness

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“Heavily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavily. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of heavily

adverb

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