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
-
In October 1941 a 14-year-old Jewish boy named Yitzhak Rudashevski sat in a crowded hiding place in Vilna Poland, hastily writing in his diary.—
Dr. Michael Good,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler needs his other main attacking players to pull their weight as well to prevent the season from petering out hastily.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
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
-
Multiple bilateral meetings aimed at finding a solution to the increasingly fraught war of words are being hurriedly arranged.—
Kamal Ahmed,
Fortune,
19 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
At today's prices, gold investing isn't something retirees can afford to treat casually or impulsively.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
-
And then impulsively ordered the dates off their food menu.—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Precipitously.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precipitously. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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