hurtfully

adverb

as in cruelly

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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
  • The practice was criticized by advocates and others as cruelly targeting rule followers as low-hanging fruit to meet quotas.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 20 July 2026
  • In the movie, Calypso is portrayed less cruelly, and is depicted as being in love with Odysseus.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
Definition of cruelly
Adverb
  • Trump hadn’t yet declared war on Iran, but the country was roiling with protests, which had been harshly suppressed.
    — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • The Greek myths are rife with petty and meddlesome deities squabbling, playing favorites, punishing harshly, and otherwise wreaking havoc on the lives of mortal men.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 July 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • Even a deep black pencil can feel softer and more natural because the pigment doesn’t sit as sharply on top of the skin.
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 24 July 2026
  • Oil prices have surged more than 30% this month as fighting in the Middle East sharply escalates.
    — Spencer Kimball,Chloe Taylor,Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 23 July 2026
Definition of sharply
Adverb
  • In the following days, Beretti’s right knee swelled severely, according to her health department complaint.
    — Ella Moore July 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
  • With employees bombarded by hundreds of daily notifications and attention spans shrinking to mere seconds, true productivity and complex decision-making are severely hampered.
    — Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • In recent years, defense officials have increasingly studied how to harden bases against drone attacks, recognizing that infrastructure built for earlier conflicts is often ill-suited to withstand modern threats.
    — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 21 July 2026
  • But as yesterday’s race showed, the current F1 machinery is utterly ill-suited to this dramatic venue.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 20 July 2026
Definition of ill
Adverb
  • Emery’s inclination for wide forwards is well known, but acutely demonstrated in Garnacho’s case.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • Houston's autopsy found she was acutely intoxicated with cocaine at the time of her death and showed evidence of chronic cocaine use.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 17 July 2026
Definition of acutely
Adverb
  • The reunion, poignantly, took place at Charles’s country home, Highgrove House, where Harry spent much of his childhood.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 16 July 2026
  • As Ethan, Stock was as perversely alienating as he was poignantly alienated.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of poignantly
Adverb
  • 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
  • The Towode Door Stop Alarm is a budget-friendly, highly effective safety tool that functions as a wedge door stop and a piercingly loud alarm when activated.
    — Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 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.

Browse Nearby Words

hurtful
hurtfully
hurting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hurtfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hurtfully. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of aerie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All