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

Derived Forms

• overaggressively
  adverb
• unaggressively
  adverb
• nonaggressively
  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

India is aggressively developing its AI industry, but its leaders are aware that, alongside the technology's much-hyped benefits, automation poses risks.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

If he was here, I would be making fun of him aggressively.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

Dillon Crawford, was described as "enthusiastically and aggressively" pushing his way to the front of the crowd to get to retreating police in Belmont Road.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

Iran’s nearly $8 billion crypto ecosystem is growing, and Treasury has moved aggressively to constrict it at the point where crypto must be converted into usable currency, such as dollars.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Rush bled and purged aggressively and argued for his cure each time; other doctors hotly argued against it and him.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy