stiffly

adverb

Definition of stifflynext
1
as in harshly
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering stiffly criticized for making such indiscreet comments in public

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in strongly
in a vigorous and forceful manner a stiffly fought battle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stiffly
  1. harshly
  2. strongly
  3. severely
  4. vigorously
  5. oppressively
  6. forcibly
  7. firmly
  8. fiercely
Adverb
  • Some are condemned swiftly and harshly, others are shrugged off almost entirely.
    — Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Meta has been judged harshly for spending billions of dollars on AI without becoming a leader in the technology, so Muse’s popularity surprised some, according to Jefferies senior analyst Brent Thill.
    — Ella Chakarian, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • Mathematicians strongly suspect that there is a genuinely knotty loop that also has a Jones polynomial 1.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Strip away these one-time charges, and its underlying business accelerated strongly.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of strongly
Adverb
  • Black adults develop hypertension earlier and more severely than white adults; Latino communities face similar risks and barriers to diagnosis.
    — Garth Walker, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Two years after releasing that song, in 1982, Joel was involved in a motorcycle crash that severely damaged his hand.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • An alderman should advocate vigorously for the ward while recognizing that decisions about taxes, development, transportation, public safety and city finances affect millions of residents.
    — Vince Fattore, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Shake the jar vigorously in a circular motion to utilize centrifugal force to pull as much water as possible away from the seeds.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of vigorously
Adverb
  • The summer had seen Europe endure an oppressively dry, hot summer, which had seen wildfires spring up across the continent.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
  • After a bit of a reprieve from an oppressively hot summer, another heat wave is set to scorch Southern California this week.
    — Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of oppressively
Adverb
  • Almost 260 million people need assistance, including over 118 million forcibly displaced — a grim world record — while governments retreat from funding the response.
    — Jeannie Annan, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Some 70,000 of its citizens forcibly crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the tip of North Africa.
    — Monitor's Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of forcibly
Adverb
  • The simple fact of the matter is that David Solomon remains firmly in charge of Goldman Sachs and will for the foreseeable future.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
  • For The Times) Greenspan claims somewhat less creative license with more traditional deli staples, though bagels, pastrami and knishes still stand firmly at the nexus of old Jewish traditions and Greenspan’s chef-y tendencies.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of firmly
Adverb
  • There, in the early nineties, the living fought fiercely among the dead.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • That is the question plaguing university leaders across the country, and nowhere is the debate raging more fiercely these days than at the University of California.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of fiercely
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.

Browse Nearby Words

stiffing
stiffly
stiff-necked
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Cite this Entry

“Stiffly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stiffly. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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