adverb

• 1To a great degree; in large amounts.

  ‘it was raining heavily’

  More example sentences

  • ‘he had been drinking heavily for six months’
  • ‘she is heavily pregnant’
  • ‘The bacterial outbreak was attributed to the use of heavily diluted disinfectant.’
  • ‘The company invested heavily in advertising to modernise its staid image.’
  • ‘The word beefy is used to indicate a powerful, perhaps heavily alcoholic wine, with a very chewy or mouth-filling impact.’
  • ‘The cut to her shin was small, but was bleeding heavily.’
  • ‘These poacher patrols are armed and the people they encounter can be heavily armed as well.’
  • ‘Newer media tend to grow from, or expand out of, older media; television drew heavily upon radio and film.’
  • ‘The city was heavily shelled during the war in the early 90s and is still struggling to recover.’
  • ‘Now he is about to send heavily armed SDF troops there.’
  • ‘A host of community groups have already heavily booked the vehicle to venues across the State.’
  • ‘However, they were heavily defeated in wards they won last year.’
  • ‘I am lobbying pretty heavily for a spicy cranberry jelly from a jar.’
  • ‘The bomber died in the explosion and the jeep was heavily damaged.’
  • ‘The money convoys and storage sites are heavily guarded.’
  • ‘This comes, I think, from juxtapositions that strengthen the already heavily saturated colors of the images.’
  • ‘But the mountains remain heavily forested and biologically diverse.’
  • ‘It can be very difficult to be with someone who is affected by alcohol, particularly if they drink often and heavily.’
  • ‘By the way, if you do see him, these very nice, yet heavily armed people would very much like to have a word.’
  • ‘The victim suffered a badly cut mouth, which was bleeding heavily, two broken teeth and a bruised eye.’
  • ‘After initial success, the royalists were heavily defeated by superior forces.’
  • ‘The costs of the weekend are heavily subsidised by the Foundation and by the Department.’

  Synonyms

  laboriously, slowly, ponderously, steadily, deliberately, woodenly, stiffly, with heavy steps, with leaden steps

  decisively, utterly, completely, thoroughly, totally, conclusively, roundly, soundly, absolutely

  excessively, to excess, immoderately, copiously, inordinately, intemperately, a great deal, too much, very much, overmuch, to a great extent, to too great an extent, without restraint, without control

  densely, closely, thickly, compactly

  deeply, extremely, very, greatly, exceedingly, enormously, terribly, tremendously, awfully, profoundly

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1To a large extent; very or very much.
     ‘the country is heavily dependent on banana exports’
     More example sentences

     • ‘he was heavily influenced by the Impressionists’
     • ‘Like many involved with the Spiritual Rights Foundation, they left heavily in debt.’
     • ‘Many factory outlets sell winter accessories at heavily discounted prices.’
     • ‘A few minutes later we stood on the beach under a heavily clouded sky, looking out over a millpond sea.’
     • ‘In contrast, living systems rely heavily on information exchange between neighboring modules.’
     • ‘Already overburdened staff have to focus more heavily on information assurance versus asset protection.’
     • ‘Decisions we make today will surely weigh heavily on the shape of the world we eventually leave.’
     • ‘In Figure 1, year data is heavily skewed towards the late 1990s with a distinct upward trend peaking in 2000.’
     • ‘Their combined forces heavily defeated Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld in September 1631.’
     • ‘Collins also relies heavily on internal employee referrals to find good long-term staffers in the first place.’
     • ‘Those runners heavily handicapped were in amongst the middle order starters.’
     • ‘The heavily insulated egg plummeted to the ground.’
     • ‘My life now heavily revolves around the white stuff.’
     • ‘Above all, it is rich with the overpowering detail of heavily researched cultural history.’
     • ‘All exports are prevented and imports are heavily restricted, including fuel.’
     • ‘Undoubtedly, schools and universities are heavily involved in information.’
     • ‘Thailand and Vietnam depend heavily on exports to power economic growth.’
     • ‘First, he relies heavily upon nepotism.’
     • ‘The final design emphasizes its simplicity, heavily relying on upstage lighting technique and set movement.’
     • ‘They began by relying heavily on friends and family to come to events.’
     • ‘It borrows heavily from The Matrix, as though daring us to point out the comparison.’

• 2With a lot of force or effort; with weight.

  ‘she fell heavily to the ground’

  More example sentences

  • ‘he sat down heavily in the chair’
  • ‘He fell very heavily on his, erm, backside.’
  • ‘The door closed heavily behind Lawrence.’
  • ‘Dr. Lawrence was strolling at a leisurely pace, leaning rather heavily on his walking stick.’
  • ‘He went down heavily, but amazingly was up on his feet at the count of two smiling at the referee and calling Tyson in.’

  1. 2.1In a way that is mentally oppressive or hard to endure.
     ‘it is a burden that weighs heavily on his shoulders’
     More example sentences

     • ‘tension hung heavily in the air’
     • ‘Sometimes, the weight of memory and time weighs heavily.’
     • ‘The weight of expectation understandably rests heavily on his shoulders.’
     • ‘But right now this is weighing so heavily on my mind that I don't know how I can not mention it.’
  2. 2.2Slowly and loudly.
     ‘she was breathing heavily’
     More example sentences

     • ‘the man in the next room was snoring heavily’
     • ‘"Gallant Jong Suk" was her nickname, named after her habit of breathing heavily when working and marching.’
     • ‘It was some time later when they eventually drew slightly apart, both gasping to breathe heavily, hardly able to speak.’
  3. 2.3In a slow way that expresses sadness.
     ‘he sighed heavily’
     More example sentences

     • ‘Its king breathed heavily in his palace, all alone.’