as in hastily
with excessive or careless speed
the sight of swimmers exiting the water precipitously when some joker shouted "Shark!"
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Recent Examples of precipitously
What began as an emergency measure cannot become a convenient default whenever there is snow on the ground or temperatures drop precipitously.
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
New iterations and versions of AI systems have caused usage fees to fall precipitously, which the AVA team sees as a key advantage of AI tools given limited court budgets.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 3 Jan. 2026
After decades of successful cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and transnational crime, relations between Colombia and the United States are at a historic nadir and precipitously getting worse.
—Kevin Whitaker, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2025
That total is slightly up from last year, but down precipitously from nearly 20 years ago.
—Sudiksha Kochi, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2025
For a century or so, Hollywood has balanced those two elements precipitously.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Dec. 2025
That efficiency drops, precipitously.
—Sam McDowell December 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Dec. 2025
Tourism from China has fallen even more precipitously, going from 119,000 visitors in 2019 to just 54,370 this year.
—Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
In fact, StubHub just recently went public, and its stock has declined precipitously because of these actions.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
New iterations and versions of AI systems have caused usage fees to fall precipitously, which the AVA team sees as a key advantage of AI tools given limited court budgets.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 3 Jan. 2026
After decades of successful cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and transnational crime, relations between Colombia and the United States are at a historic nadir and precipitously getting worse.
—Kevin Whitaker, Foreign Affairs, 15 Dec. 2025
That total is slightly up from last year, but down precipitously from nearly 20 years ago.
—Sudiksha Kochi, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2025
For a century or so, Hollywood has balanced those two elements precipitously.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Dec. 2025
That efficiency drops, precipitously.
—Sam McDowell December 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Dec. 2025
Tourism from China has fallen even more precipitously, going from 119,000 visitors in 2019 to just 54,370 this year.
—Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Nov. 2025
In fact, StubHub just recently went public, and its stock has declined precipitously because of these actions.
—Tom Rogers, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precipitously
Adverb
-
Budapest has hosted several annual iterations of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, and another was hastily rescheduled this year to fall in March, just before Hungary's elections.—
MATTHEW LEE,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
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Back in November, the organization’s two Arizona chapters hastily organized food and formula drives to combat heightened food insecurity caused by SNAP Benefit cuts during the government shutdown.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
The others are hurriedly opening your food.—
Molly Aitken,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
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His eyes strained to decipher the hurriedly ornate calligraphy, which often bled to the other side of the sheet, making the documents even harder to read.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Our next step is to understand how cells controlling hesitation interact with drugs treating ADHD and OCD, conditions where patients can respond impulsively during volatile or uncertain situations.—
Eric Yttri,
The Conversation,
12 Feb. 2026
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Make Impulse Purchases People with organized homes are mindful not to buy things impulsively, explains Kristen Ziegler, the founder of Minima in Richmond, Virginia.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Precipitously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precipitously. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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