aggressively

American  

[uh-gres-iv-lee] / əˈgrɛs ɪv li /

adverb

1. in an aggressive, militant, or menacing manner.

   The orders were to root out the entrenched rebels, swiftly and aggressively.

2. in a highly competitive manner; with an aggressive effort to win.

   The series was aggressively played by both teams.

3. in a vigorously or forcefully enterprising manner; ambitiously.

   an aggressively marketed line of cosmetics.

4. in a pushy or boldly assertive manner.

   They continue to lobby aggressively for a safer workplace.

5. Medicine/Medical.

   1. (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.

   2. in a highly potent, therapeutic, but risky manner, intended to destroy malignancy.

      Can the treatment aggressively target the tumor without harming healthy tissue?

6. (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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonaggressively
  adverb
• overaggressively
  adverb
• unaggressively
  adverb

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

The 23-year-old's tactic of aggressively hitting early in the rallies, and a reluctance to patiently wait for chances to attack, underlined her keenness to swarm her opponent.

From BBC • May 24, 2026

But developing a new instructional regimen for complex high-stakes moon missions as the agency tries to aggressively ramp up Artemis launches from once every 3 1/2 years to every six months is a different beast.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

Wendy’s has already invested in some of those areas; the question is whether it has moved aggressively enough.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Right now, the market appears “comfortable watching balances tighten gradually without aggressively repricing crude higher, because there remains a broad belief that the strait will reopen before true tank bottoms become visible,” Babin said.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

While the restrictions were aggressively enforced in the South, they were also common in the Midwest and West.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson