as in carefully
without any relaxation of standards or precision
strictly speaking, Columbus did not discover America—the people living there had long known about it the rules must be strictly obeyed
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Recent Examples of strictly
If the whole thing is about moving fast with your eye strictly on efficiency, then an awful lot of people are going to get really hurt.
—
Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
An earpiece was initially proposed strictly for emergencies — earthquakes, sudden weather changes — but Honnold readily agreed to stay connected and converse occasionally with the broadcast team below.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 9 Feb. 2026
The bustling breakfast scene at GB Roof Garden transforms into a rather more formal affair for sunset Negronis and business or birthday dinners (with a smart dress code strictly imposed).
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Feb. 2026
The startup differentiates itself from other AI entrants in the logistics space, such as HappyRobot, by focusing strictly on revenue generation.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Formal uniforms would be required; cargo pants strictly prohibited.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
The band’s follow-up, 2002’s Away from the Sun, found Arnold shifting strictly to vocalist, with drummer Josh Freese recruited for that multiplatinum LP.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2026
Lion numbers are on the rise in the Maasai Mara, thanks to strictly enforced anti-poaching laws and programs to further educate the Maasai community on the value of wildlife conservation.
—Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
Humor Stays Safe A decisive majority of ads emphasize humor, but remain strictly PG-rated given the stakes and the size of the audience.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2026
Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026
An earpiece was initially proposed strictly for emergencies — earthquakes, sudden weather changes — but Honnold readily agreed to stay connected and converse occasionally with the broadcast team below.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 9 Feb. 2026
The bustling breakfast scene at GB Roof Garden transforms into a rather more formal affair for sunset Negronis and business or birthday dinners (with a smart dress code strictly imposed).
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Feb. 2026
The startup differentiates itself from other AI entrants in the logistics space, such as HappyRobot, by focusing strictly on revenue generation.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2026
Formal uniforms would be required; cargo pants strictly prohibited.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
The band’s follow-up, 2002’s Away from the Sun, found Arnold shifting strictly to vocalist, with drummer Josh Freese recruited for that multiplatinum LP.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2026
Lion numbers are on the rise in the Maasai Mara, thanks to strictly enforced anti-poaching laws and programs to further educate the Maasai community on the value of wildlife conservation.
—Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 7 Feb. 2026
Humor Stays Safe A decisive majority of ads emphasize humor, but remain strictly PG-rated given the stakes and the size of the audience.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 7 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strictly
Adverb
-
And while there wont be any stars, the league carefully and deliberately included pop cultural references from the child’s room at the center of the video, including action figures of Spider Man, Black Panther, and Optimum Prime, not to mention some genuine NFL apparel, courtesy of Fanatics.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Allow excess batter to drip back into bowl and carefully drop kale into hot oil.—
C.W. Cameron,
AJC.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
Atlanta was, at once, one of the most promising Black cities in the country and one of the most rigidly controlled.—
Ernie Suggs,
AJC.com,
1 Feb. 2026
-
This teaches Claude to handle similar requests in real time, not by rigidly blocking but by reasoning through the conflict.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
To manage vegetation, utility companies typically send crews to walk the power lines or fly helicopters periodically to collect information using lidar (light detection and ranging), a technology used to precisely map terrain with high-resolution, three-dimensional images.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
6 Feb. 2026
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This is precisely what has been taking place in California's Central Valley throughout the past weeks.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Adverb
-
For example, the AI might at first appear to rigorously follow the stipulation.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But McAdams’ performance is so rigorously committed that dissonance becomes the point and her oceanside glow-up steers the film’s second half.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Strictly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strictly. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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