piercingly

adverb

as in sharply

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

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 As money hijacks morality and democracy begins to look like a hoax, Tresnjak’s Broadway-caliber staging contrasts garish spectacle with piercingly intimate scenes between Claire and Anton. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026 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
  1. sharply
  2. poignantly
  3. acutely
  4. harshly
  5. keenly
  6. darkly
  7. distressingly
  8. blackly
Adverb
  • The production stalled in 1964 when the couple separated, and Kumari’s health declined sharply over the following years.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Inflation dropped sharply, deposits flowed back into the banking system, and the economy switched from negative to positive growth with a surge in exports leading the way.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of sharply
Adverb
  • The play’s tension, gently but poignantly unspooled, develops from the fact that while Ryan has pursued a career onstage, Charlie never did.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
  • That’s a process that can help clarify thoughts, but knowing that no one was behind the dialogue, that the empathy was a technique and not a presence, left me with a sense of being poignantly unheard.
    — Steven Barrie-Anthony, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of poignantly
Adverb
  • Best known as a carcinogenic byproduct of cooking starchy food and burning tobacco, acrylamide can be acutely toxic in high doses.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
  • For immigrants, the cuts could be felt more acutely, compounding the effects of other administration efforts to restrict their access to public assistance as part of a broader immigration crackdown.
    — Mikella Schuettler, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of acutely
Adverb
  • Hair in Sports Women are often judged more harshly than male counterparts in many aspects of life, but this is especially true in sports.
    — Audrey Noble, Vogue, 15 Oct. 2026
  • But their complaints come as Lecornu's government seeks to rein in public spending to appease skittish bond markets, which have punished France more harshly than many of its peers this year, amid a global bond market rout.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of harshly
Adverb
  • On set, Creed-Miles was also falling deeply in love—with storytelling—while also keenly being aware of the high stakes of adapting a beloved Austen classic.
    — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Royal is also keenly aware of the significance of her AGT victory beyond her own career.
    — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of keenly
Adverb
  • The first sales for Honey have rolled in as the darkly comedic thriller had its world premiere in Cannes.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Her darkly psychedelic accumulations let their language sprawl.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of darkly
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

Browse Nearby Words

piercing
piercingly
pier glass
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Piercingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piercingly. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All