piercingly

adverb

as in sharply

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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 piercingly 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 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 In the opening keynote, president of public broadcaster Arte France Bruno Patino provided a bleak yet piercingly precise evaluation of the industry today. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026 Perched along the Dalton Highway and north of the Arctic Circle, Coldfoot has virtually no light pollution, piercingly clear winter nights, and a reputation among aurora chasers for its reliable solar shows. — Sarah Buder, AFAR Media, 9 Mar. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piercingly
  1. sharply
  2. poignantly
  3. acutely
  4. harshly
  5. keenly
  6. darkly
  7. distressingly
  8. blackly
Adverb
  • Heather Diehl | Getty Images The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday released a sharply critical report on the federal government's handling of investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
    — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Oil prices have fallen sharply in recent days on hopes that the Iran conflict is fading, and gas costs are falling this month.
    — Christopher Rugaber, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of sharply
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
  • That’s even more acutely felt in a district where overall student count is decreasing and traditional public schools’ share is shrinking fast.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Yet that milestone, as some fans have expressed, acutely exposed the show’s fatigue.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of acutely
Adverb
  • Lovingly based on Chéri’s own family history, Wanted whisks the audience into the postbellum south where Black Americans have been given their freedom in name alone, as they are harshly and repeatedly reminded.
    — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Nov. 2026
  • Mamdani said that treating people who disagree with him harshly or with judgment leads to both sides feeling like there has to be a winner or loser in the debate.
    — Juan J. Arroyo, Rolling Stone, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • That sensitivity extends to the subject of the documentary itself, with the directors keenly aware of the cultural and political nuances the project involved.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 12 Nov. 2026
  • His weary voice, describing with sympathy what this solitary, hungry rover is going through, details a broken relationship between human and beast, but more keenly and traumatically, between humans and humans.
    — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of keenly
Adverb
  • Set on England’s southern coast after an unexplained catastrophe, the darkly comic novel follows a beachcomber who encounters a mysterious, shape-shifting artifact.
    — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2026
  • The reality star opted for a darkly alluring look, dressed in a custom floor-length burgundy gown by Gucci.
    — Erin Wisti, Footwear News, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of darkly
Adverb
  • The movie’s strongest sequences provide the all-too-rare sensation of truly not being able to believe your eyes, as the film’s most fantastical elements feel distressingly real.
    — Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
  • The event was halted after an hour due to fears about her safety, which distressingly encapsulates a tension that the trans Mayan artist has navigated for years.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026
Definition of distressingly
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
  • Saadawi’s unabashedly political, blackly funny contemporary take on the mythos (superb translated by Jonathan Wright, who captures the wry humor and brooding, ominous rhythms of Saadawi’s dark tale) is, however, a true standout in a very crowded field.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2024
Definition of blackly

Browse Nearby Words

piercing
piercingly
pier glass
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Cite this Entry

“Piercingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piercingly. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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