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
  • That decision by the president was praised by Putin but criticized harshly by members of Congress, including some Republicans.
    — Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Stewart was an executive producer of his friend Colbert’s show and harshly criticized the cancellation, rejecting Paramount’s financial justification and accusing the company of bending the knee to the president.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • Still, the momentum, by his forecast, strongly favors the Democrats.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • What famous physicists thought The debate between determinism and indeterminism in quantum mechanics has split the physicists into two groups that stand strongly by their views.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of strongly
Adverb
  • Fetal personhood would also likely eliminate, or at a minimum severely restrict, people who seek to start a family using surrogacy and in vitro fertilization.
    — Jim Defede, Miami Herald, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Torosian had told the prosecutor’s office that an undernourished, severely disabled girl who was receiving treatment at BioMed was subsisting entirely on spinach—on Kotthaus’s orders.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • The president has continued to vigorously back Paxton throughout the general election, making several trips to Texas to campaign for him.
    — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • His critics interpreted it as endorsing the massacre of Israeli civilians, though Abu Shehadeh and others vigorously denied that claim.
    — Tamir Sorek, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 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
  • Women are typically forcibly sterilized through hysterectomy, tubal ligation, or endometrial ablation, while men are typically subjected to vasectomy.
    — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Trump’s yearly average of removing 380,000 migrants forcibly, rather than voluntarily, is lower than Barack Obama’s average of 392,000 annually in his first term.
    — Alec Dent, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of forcibly
Adverb
  • Shares were last seen down 14%, sitting firmly at the bottom of the Stoxx 600 index.
    — Elsa Ohlen, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In this 1966 photo of the musician and his instrument, with glam rock still in the future, one of its superstars is still firmly surrounded by mod, mid-1960s fixtures including his skinny tie and massive ashtray.
    — Eleni N. Gage, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of firmly
Adverb
  • Rooting it very fiercely in a time period felt like the wrong choice.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The first season of Carrie follows misfit high-schooler Carrie White (Howell) who has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan).
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 22 Oct. 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 28 Oct. 2026.

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