aggressively
Americanadverb
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in an aggressive, militant, or menacing manner.
The orders were to root out the entrenched rebels, swiftly and aggressively.
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in a highly competitive manner; with an aggressive effort to win.
The series was aggressively played by both teams.
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in a vigorously or forcefully enterprising manner; ambitiously.
an aggressively marketed line of cosmetics.
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in a pushy or boldly assertive manner.
They continue to lobby aggressively for a safer workplace.
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Medicine/Medical.
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(of a disease’s or tumor’s viability) in a rapid and vigorous, highly invasive manner.
The cancer has aggressively branched out to his lower intestine.
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in a highly potent, therapeutic, but risky manner, intended to destroy malignancy.
Can the treatment aggressively target the tumor without harming healthy tissue?
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(of a plant’s growth habit) with an undesirable tendency to spread rapidly, especially where unwanted.
Wild lotuses have aggressively flourished in both ponds, much to the dismay of local canoeists.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aggressively
First recorded in 1790–95; aggressive ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
When you do something aggressively, you act in a forceful and often hostile way. Aggressively tackling someone in football is generally fine, but aggressively shoving to the front of a line is not. The adverb aggressively means "with aggression" or "in a combative or threatening way." Think of military troops moving aggressively into enemy territory. You can also use this word in a slightly gentler way to describe something done forcefully or assertively: "They're marketing their cupcakes so aggressively — I see those ads everywhere I go!"
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Roy has promised to take her experience from a years-long legal battle with Meta to aggressively pursue litigation against corporations and landlords for alleged misconduct that harms the average Angeleno.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Until now, scientists have struggled to explain why these supposedly less dangerous tumors sometimes behave so aggressively.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
He told Reuters the companies were "showing some pretty significant growing pains as they aggressively pursue the AI build-out".
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The companies are "all showing some pretty significant growing pains as they... aggressively pursue the AI build-out," Christopher Low of FHN Financial told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Then nodding towards Jaimito, who had come to the doorway and was aggressively blocking their way in, she added, “One struggle at a time, sister.”
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
