PRECIPITOUSLY Synonyms: 38 Similar and Opposite Words

precipitously

adverb

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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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 precipitously In other words, that wouldn’t explain why enrollment has fallen precipitously in the last 12 months or so. —

Kff Health News, Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2026 Suddenly, around 32 miles southwest of Marfa, the pavement ends, the ground drops away precipitously, and the gentle plains give way to craggy rocks and steep, dramatic mountains. —

Eva Frederick, Travel + Leisure, 13 Apr. 2026 More damning is last week’s UMBC poll, which shows his approval rating in Maryland dropping precipitously, an unexpected slide in what has long been a sleepy Democratic stronghold. —

Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026 In some places, fish catches declined precipitously in medium depths, which Joye attributes to nutritionally barren conditions. —

Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026 Gas prices have risen precipitously since the war’s start, topping $4 per gallon on average. —

Michael Loria, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026 The Washington National Opera (WNO), which had been in residence at the Kennedy Center since 1971, also severed its ties in January after ticket sales dropped precipitously. —

Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 26 Mar. 2026 Already disruption to the Gulf energy production and export system, including Iranian drone and missile attacks, has seen oil and gas revenues that are usually calculated in the billions of dollars a day drop precipitously, if not to zero, since the Iran war began. —

Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026 Vaccination rates climbed, and measles cases dropped precipitously. —

Patricia Callahan, ProPublica, 19 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for precipitously

Adverb

The inner layer, known as the Sarcophagus or Shelter Object, is a steel-and-concrete shell built hastily in 1986.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 15 Apr. 2026
When Janine hastily suggests amid her frustration that maybe the pair should break up, Gregory is clearly caught off guard.

— Katie Campione, Deadline, 8 Apr. 2026