heavily

adverb

heavi·​ly ˈhe-və-lē 

1

: to a great degree : severely

2

: slowly and laboriously : dully

3

archaic : with sorrow : grievously

4

: in a heavy manner

Synonyms

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• exceeding
• extra
• extremely
• fabulously
• fantastically
• far
• fiercely
• filthy
• frightfully
• full
• greatly
• highly
• hugely
• immensely
• incredibly
• intensely
• jolly
• majorly
• mightily
• mighty
• monstrous [chiefly dialect]
• mortally
• most
• much
• particularly
• passing
• rattling
• real
• really
• right
• roaring
• roaringly
• seriously
• severely
• so
• sore
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of heavily in a Sentence

He relies heavily on his wife for advice.

These artists borrow heavily from Picasso.

Our flowers were heavily damaged by a late spring frost.

She drank and smoked heavily for years.

He sat down heavily on the couch.

He was leaning heavily on the table.

She sighed heavily then said “Okay, I'll do it.”

Recent Examples on the Web

There were decreases in cities with robust service organizations and some that have leaned more heavily on police. —Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 May 2025

Four months into his presidency, Trump has largely avoided direct confrontations with Congress—leaning heavily on executive action to carry out his agenda. —Nik Popli, Time, 21 May 2025

The Formula 1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has become a fixture on the racing calendar, and the kingdom has invested heavily in sporting events ranging from championship boxing matches to golf tournaments. —Ritu Upadhyay, Footwear News, 21 May 2025

Jalen Hurts Hurts has relied heavily on the Tush Push for touchdowns in fantasy football. —Brandon Funston, New York Times, 21 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing heavily

• heavily armed

Rhymes for heavily

• evilly