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
-
Over the past few decades, wealth and political power have concentrated sharply at the top, with the political giving of the 100 richest Americans surging more than 100-fold since 2000 and far outpacing the rising cost of campaigns.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Democrats have sharply criticized ICE.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
15 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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This solid resin, used to embalm the dead and as a painkiller (mixed with wine), poignantly foreshadowed Jesus' sacrificial destiny.—
Nadia Cantú,
AZCentral.com,
6 Jan. 2026
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On Christmas morning, Charlotte wore a bespoke beige Catherine Walker coat with brown trim at the collar, pockets, and sleeves that was reminiscent of a coat designed by Katherine Hooker that Kate wore on February 24, 2011—which poignantly marked her first royal engagement.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
29 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
The region’s North African influences (Tunisia lies just across the coast) are acutely manifest in its cuisine—San Vito Lo Capo hosts an annual couscous festival and chickpea fritters, pistachios, and spices such as saffron and cinnamon feature across many of its restaurants’ menus.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 Jan. 2026
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But one thing about Minneapolis is we are really acutely organized.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
10 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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In a press conference later in the day, Mayor Frey, 44, harshly condemned the actions of ICE in his city and pushed back against the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) claims that the agent involved in the fatal shooting acted in self defense.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
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One of his non-Jewish primary opponents, Palm Coast City Council member Charles Gambaro, harshly criticized Fine’s Gaza remarks and declared that Gambaro, too, would seek AIPAC’s endorsement.—
Andrew Lapin,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Tucker remains the biggest name available on the market, with the Toronto Blue Jays among the clubs keenly interested in adding the outfielder.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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Ancient and not-so-ancient cultures were keenly aware of the sun’s annual cycle in the sky, and many worshipped it.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
21 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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Picked up out of Cannes in 2024, the darkly comic thriller enjoyed a high-profile fall festival run and an awards campaign that landed it on the four-film shortlist for France’s submission for the international feature film Oscar.—
Ben Croll,
Variety,
15 Jan. 2026
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He is known for darkly humorous and unsettling work addressing themes of trauma, social friction, and freedom.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
14 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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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
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Reports of politically motivated violence are distressingly common – ranging from mass shootings, car-ramming attacks and assaults at demonstrations to assassination attempts, kidnappings and threats targeting mayors, governors, political activists and members of Congress.—
Justin Pickett,
The Conversation,
17 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
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 20 Jan. 2026.
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