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

See Examples For:

aggressively

The researchers discovered that DNA breaks often appear in the same locations where cancer cells are driving growth-related genes most aggressively.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

Now, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, is aggressively enforcing the statute against recalcitrant communities in the state.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

"In short, Samsung is leveraging its strong position in memory to aggressively capture share across most of its business units."

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Blue Owl Capital is aggressively emphasizing its transition to a multi-strategy alternative assets manager as it grapples with investor withdrawals from some of its direct-lending vehicles and investments in software businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Frogs croaked aggressively at the young oblate, each croak like a curse.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz