as in sharply
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Recent Examples of piercingly
His lashes are long, the eyes deep-set, large and intense, staring piercingly into you.
—
Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piercingly
Adverb
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Miami also bounced back sharply, jumping 82 percent to 40 sales, while London slipped to seventh place with just 35 deals.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
5 Feb. 2026
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If the states don’t reach a deal, federal officials could sharply cut Arizona’s water starting next year, and at that point, a lawsuit is likely, Buschatzke said.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Perhaps more poignantly, various DOJ and FBI officials have refused to pursue the administration’s agenda to go after journalists, with a number resigning their positions, Deadline can confirm.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
30 Jan. 2026
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Two chairs were poignantly left empty in the ceremony space to honor Will's parents.—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
27 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Beijing has already cast that US posture – seen most acutely in the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro – as a form of imperialism and bullying.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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The threat is felt so acutely that fascists are led to take joy in cruelty against those outside this group, and others who stand to benefit from greater equality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The plaintiffs allege that Black employees in the office were disciplined more harshly than their colleagues, denied accommodations and subjected to escalating retaliation after raising concerns about Johnson’s leadership.—
Chaya Tong,
Austin American Statesman,
3 Feb. 2026
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Mendonça was born in 1968, in the early years of a ruthless military dictatorship—a time when cinema, like much else, was harshly constrained.—
Stephania Taladrid,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Konate’s absence on compassionate leave following the death of his father has also been keenly felt.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
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But Sheinbaum is keenly aware of how Trump’s actions on trade, immigration and security could plunge Mexico into turmoil, potentially threatening her own popularity and the legacy of the ruling party founded by her populist predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The darkly comic horror-thriller stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a desert island.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Feb. 2026
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Shot on gorgeous 35mm film, this darkly comedic horror flick is a nostalgic cinephile's dream.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The pipeline of new antibiotics remains distressingly thin, and most drugs currently in development are structurally similar to existing antibiotics, potentially limiting their effectiveness.—
André O. Hudson,
The Conversation,
21 Jan. 2026
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That can be forgiven thanks to the film’s evocative imagery and the emotional resonance of its central themes, distressingly familiar to anyone who has ever lost themselves in a relationship.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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What at first appears to be a run-of-the-mill trauma drama about a family dealing with the eldest child’s anorexia nervosa gradually evolves into something odder and more original, even blackly comic, in Ungrateful Beings.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piercingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piercingly. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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