Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

bigly

American  
[big-lee] / ˈbɪg li /

adverb

  1. in a big way; greatly.

    Their gifts made the children smile bigly.

    Aaron was tall for his age, and bigly built.

  2. strongly; with violent force.

    Waves pounded bigly against our starboard side.

  3. boastfully; haughtily.

    She pronounces her opinions bigly, as if they are divine mandates.


adjective

  1. pleasantly habitable.

    a settlement of modest but bigly homes.

Etymology

Origin of bigly

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English ; see big 1 ( def. ) + -ly

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.

That lackluster support shows up bigly in stock returns.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026

He lost this debate, as he would say, bigly.

From Salon • Sep. 11, 2024

Paul Dans announced he will leave the Heritage Foundation think-tank, which published the document, to "direct all my efforts to winning, bigly!"

From BBC • Jul. 30, 2024

Now W magazine has delivered bigly with its new “Best Performances” series photographed by world-renowned shooter Juergen Teller.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2021

She could take life more bigly, carelessly, more as a whole somehow.

From A Prisoner in Fairyland by Blackwood, Algernon

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "bigly" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com