as in independently
without aid or support
the team's star slugger hit three home runs, effectively winning the game single-handedly
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Recent Examples of single-handedly
Barcelona’s main threat is right-winger Lamine Yamal, who has the ability to beat two opponents single-handedly, so Jules Kounde tends to play more of a supporting role, sometimes holding his position and tucking into a back three, and pushing forward sporadically.
—
Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The latter has almost single-handedly propped up the state’s economy and generated a huge portion of tax revenues, but layoffs have proliferated as artificial intelligence is increasingly employed — a syndrome that also affects Hollywood.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
Lyles single-handedly fueled a 13-0 run that put the Kings up 52-36.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Dec. 2025
Then Rockets guard Reed Sheppard executed an 11-0 run single-handedly to finish the third with an 82-66 lead.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
Tagovailoa, who completed 79% of hiss passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, now single-handedly leads the league in interceptions with 15 on the season.
—Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025
The Herons have won each of their last three playoff games by a margin of four goals, while Messi has single-handedly made 61 direct goal contributions this season.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
This guy might be single-handedly responsible for generations of people having an irrational fear of clowns.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
The magician turned mogul single-handedly invented the fantasy, horror, and science-fiction genres with classics like A Voyage to the Moon and The Kingdom of the Fairies.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Michael Cox, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
The latter has almost single-handedly propped up the state’s economy and generated a huge portion of tax revenues, but layoffs have proliferated as artificial intelligence is increasingly employed — a syndrome that also affects Hollywood.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
Lyles single-handedly fueled a 13-0 run that put the Kings up 52-36.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Dec. 2025
Then Rockets guard Reed Sheppard executed an 11-0 run single-handedly to finish the third with an 82-66 lead.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025
Tagovailoa, who completed 79% of hiss passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns, now single-handedly leads the league in interceptions with 15 on the season.
—Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025
The Herons have won each of their last three playoff games by a margin of four goals, while Messi has single-handedly made 61 direct goal contributions this season.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025
This guy might be single-handedly responsible for generations of people having an irrational fear of clowns.
—Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
The magician turned mogul single-handedly invented the fantasy, horror, and science-fiction genres with classics like A Voyage to the Moon and The Kingdom of the Fairies.
—Erik Morse, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for single-handedly
Adverb
-
Built for demanding factory environments Atlas is a fully electric humanoid robot with 56 degrees of freedom, meaning 56 independently controllable joints that allow fluid, human-like motion.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
-
This has not been independently corroborated.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
This airflow spins the rotator through surface friction alone.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
-
In Mecklenburg County alone, this influx of visitor spending supported more than 38,000 local jobs.—
Chase Jordan
January 12,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Homsido Infrared Wooden Home Sauna The private sauna also has a dedicated foot-heating panel that operates separately from the rest of the unit.—
Toni Sutton,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
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Mamdani’s administration separately took aim at DoorDash and Uber Eats in a report released Tuesday, alleging the food delivery apps cost their workers more than $550 million in tips by requiring customers to pay gratuities after the order checkout process.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
15 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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But Harrigan said agents are trained to evaluate every incident individually.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The administration would need to individually impose tariffs on each country and for each specific commodity, rather than the sweeping tariffs as were levied under the IEEPA.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Gone are the days of relying on Spanx solely for its shapewear.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Jan. 2026
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The filing underscores the administration’s position that immigration enforcement and foreign policy decisions cannot be disentangled from national security concerns and that all of those are solely under the federal government’s purview.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Single-handedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/single-handedly. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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