hurtfully

adverb

as in cruelly

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hurtfully
  1. cruelly
  2. harshly
  3. sharply
  4. severely
  5. ill
  6. acutely
  7. poignantly
  8. piercingly
Adverb
  • No matter how cruelly politicians and pundits discuss them, and no matter how desensitized the American people become by this rhetoric, immigrant kids are still kids.
    — Hannah Harshe, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026
  • And, if Barisone was psychotically deluded, how was the jury meant to understand the defense’s central framing, which was that Kanarek had cruelly tried to harm Barisone?
    — Ian Parker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of cruelly
Adverb
  • For gaining independence, it was harshly punished financially.
    — Elisa Turner, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026
  • When student vigils were harshly dealt with by police, the protests became a campaign.
    — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • The charges have been sharply reduced since May and many residents have been seeing a credit on their monthly bills as the public benefits charges have been temporarily eliminated.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sharply criticized the diesel deal.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of sharply
Adverb
  • Fetal personhood would also likely eliminate, or at a minimum severely restrict, people who seek to start a family using surrogacy and in vitro fertilization.
    — Jim Defede, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Torosian had told the prosecutor’s office that an undernourished, severely disabled girl who was receiving treatment at BioMed was subsisting entirely on spinach—on Kotthaus’s orders.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • According to health and city officials, the people fell ill after drinking contaminated water from a water treatment plant which supplies water to several communities east of Pretoria.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • One protester died in Paris after falling ill, according to Le Parisien.
    — Kahina Sekkaï, Vanity Fair, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of ill
Adverb
  • And survey data show the pressure of health care costs is acutely affecting workers who get coverage from their jobs.
    — Bob Herman, STAT, 29 Oct. 2026
  • On Thursday, Long Beach was most acutely affected and has been a main area of concern for weeks, Black said.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of acutely
Adverb
  • Fans can expect old songs that are poignantly relevant again 30-some years after they were written — songs that highlight ongoing concerns with equal rights, politics and progressivism.
    — Courtney Devores, Charlotte Observer, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The play’s tension, gently but poignantly unspooled, develops from the fact that while Ryan has pursued a career onstage, Charlie never did.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of poignantly
Adverb
  • As money hijacks morality and democracy begins to look like a hoax, Tresnjak’s Broadway-caliber staging contrasts garish spectacle with piercingly intimate scenes between Claire and Anton.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Chef Steven Pham is still simmering his signature Northern Vietnamese-style pho ga, which features a soul-piercingly clear broth, tender poached chicken, rice noodles, and a floating raft of fresh herbs.
    — Becky Duffett, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 June 2026
Definition of piercingly
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.

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hurtful
hurtfully
hurting
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Cite this Entry

“Hurtfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurtfully. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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