HEAVILY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does heavily mean? 

• HEAVILY (adverb)
  The adverb HEAVILY has 7 senses:

1. to a considerable degree

2. in a heavy-footed manner

3. with great force

4. in a manner designed for heavy duty

5. slowly as if burdened by much weight

6. in a labored manner

7. indulging excessively

  Familiarity information: HEAVILY used as an adverb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEAVILY (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

To a considerable degree

Synonyms:

heavily; to a great extent

Context example:

he relied heavily on others' data

Pertainym:

heavy (unusually great in degree or quantity or number)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In a heavy-footed manner

Context example:

he walked heavily up the three flights to his room

Pertainym:

heavy (slow and laborious because of weight)

Sense 3

Meaning:

With great force

Context example:

she hit her arm heavily against the wall

Pertainym:

heavy (of great intensity or power or force)

Sense 4

Meaning:

In a manner designed for heavy duty

Context example:

heavily armed

Pertainym:

heavy-duty (designed for heavy work)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Slowly as if burdened by much weight

Synonyms:

heavily; heavy

Context example:

time hung heavy on their hands

Pertainym:

heavy (marked by great psychological weight; weighted down especially with sadness or troubles or weariness)

Sense 6

Meaning:

In a labored manner

Context example:

he breathed heavily

Pertainym:

heavy (of comparatively great physical weight or density)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Indulging excessively

Synonyms:

hard; heavily; intemperately

Context example:

he drank heavily

Antonym:

lightly (indulging with temperance)

 Context examples 

As a result, previous estimates relied more heavily on studies of the composition of Mars’ soil and rocks.

(New Gravity Map Suggests Mars Has a Porous Crust, NASA)

She leaned heavily against me, and I do believe that she had fallen asleep again between the arm-chair and the state-room.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This is important since MLN is a big problem, causing up to 90 per cent yield loss in heavily infected areas.

(Researchers model ways to control deadly maize disease, SciDev.Net)

He breathes heavily, taking into his lungs the frost itself.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

This research shows that exciting new discoveries can be made in poorly known groups in even the most heavily sampled areas, says Simon Malcomber, a program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology.

(New sea slug species discovered near condominiums of Florida’s Cedar Key, National Science Foundation)

There is extensive villous atrophy of the small intestinal mucosa, which is heavily infiltrated by small lymphocytes and plasma cells.

(Alpha Heavy Chain Disease, NCI Thesaurus)

Seems to have smoked heavily during the night, too.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This allele, which encodes ephrin type-A receptor 2 protein, is involved in mediating developmental events and is heavily involved in the nervous system.

(EPHA2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

It is characterized by the presence of benign, heavily pigmented dendritic melanocytes.

(Cervical Blue Nevus, NCI Thesaurus)

Lord Godalming grew very pale, and sat breathing heavily.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)