PIERCINGLY Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

piercingly

adverb

as in sharply

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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.

Recent Examples of piercingly Chef Steven Pham is still simmering his signature Northern Vietnamese-style pho ga, which features a soul-piercingly clear broth, tender poached chicken, rice noodles, and a floating raft of fresh herbs. — Becky Duffett, Bon Appetit Magazine, 8 June 2026 The Towode Door Stop Alarm is a budget-friendly, highly effective safety tool that functions as a wedge door stop and a piercingly loud alarm when activated. — Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2026 In the opening keynote, president of public broadcaster Arte France Bruno Patino provided a bleak yet piercingly precise evaluation of the industry today. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026 Perched along the Dalton Highway and north of the Arctic Circle, Coldfoot has virtually no light pollution, piercingly clear winter nights, and a reputation among aurora chasers for its reliable solar shows. — Sarah Buder, AFAR Media, 9 Mar. 2026 His lashes are long, the eyes deep-set, large and intense, staring piercingly into you. — Touré, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2025 How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men? — Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for piercingly

Adverb

Hostilities at sea have ‌escalated sharply with attacks by both sides on ports and commercial shipping, pushing ‌up global grain prices.

— Reuters, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026
New York City on Wednesday announced that AI tools will be banned in public grade and middle schools and sharply limited for high school students.

— Rafi Schwartz, TheWeek, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of sharply

Adverb

Most poignantly, he was struck by how far the late, great Buck O’Neil’s museum has come since its inception in a one-room office in 1990.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2026
At once a coming-of-age drama and a portrait of a dying Texas town in the 1950s, The Last Picture Show, based on Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry’s novel, poignantly depicts the bleak descent of youth into jaded adulthood.

— Air Mail, Air Mail, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of poignantly

Adverb

Since 2022, acutely conscious of the issue at hand, Unipublic, the company that organizes the Vuelta, has planted 2,000 native trees around the country.

— Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Debbie Willson is acutely aware of how a death can fall through the cracks.

— Alejandra Borunda, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of acutely

Adverb

Yust also alleges prosecutorial misconduct, arguing that a prosecutor improperly urged jurors to sentence him more harshly because of the emotional impact of the trial on them.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
She was especially hurt that some of the people who criticized Cox most harshly, dismissing him as craven and disingenuous, were those who had the closest relationships with him.

— McKay Coppins, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of harshly

Adverb

The team is keenly aware that in the modern market, trust is not bought but earned, and Vita Bella strives to achieve this every step of the way.

— William Jones, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026
The milestone hit especially keenly for Jamie Lynn Spears, having nearly lost her eldest daughter, Maddie, to an ATV accident 10 years ago.

— Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of keenly

Adverb

The movie’s strongest sequences provide the all-too-rare sensation of truly not being able to believe your eyes, as the film’s most fantastical elements feel distressingly real.

— Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026
The event was halted after an hour due to fears about her safety, which distressingly encapsulates a tension that the trans Mayan artist has navigated for years.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 14 June 2026

Definition of distressingly

Adverb

What at first appears to be a run-of-the-mill trauma drama about a family dealing with the eldest child’s anorexia nervosa gradually evolves into something odder and more original, even blackly comic, in Ungrateful Beings.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
Saadawi’s unabashedly political, blackly funny contemporary take on the mythos (superb translated by Jonathan Wright, who captures the wry humor and brooding, ominous rhythms of Saadawi’s dark tale) is, however, a true standout in a very crowded field.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2024

Definition of blackly

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piercing

piercingly

pier glass

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“Piercingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piercingly. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of piercingly

adverb

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