doggedly
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of doggedly
Explanation
The adverb doggedly means "tenaciously" or "with strong determination." If your dog ran away, you might doggedly pursue him across the park, down the road, and through the woods. Doggedly is the adverb form of the adjective dogged. In the 1300s, both words meant having the negative qualities of a dog, or mean and cruel. By the late 1700s, both had evolved to mean "persistent" and "with determination." If you doggedly insisted on your innocence, despite the evidence linking you to your brother's missing baseball mitt, you might then search doggedly for the mitt, not stopping until you found it in the dog house.
Vocabulary lists containing doggedly
The Outsiders
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A Raisin in the Sun
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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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.
For over a year, Meloni has doggedly maintained a balancing act between the U.S. and Europe, playing down differences with Trump and insisting that the trans-Atlantic alliance is alive and well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
"We will remember the courage and bravery of our fallen members and every officer that has doggedly pursued this outcome for the community."
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
The pair had remained doggedly together, as she had said: "We're divorced to each other, not from each other."
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
But it remains surprising that its members continue to stick doggedly to their story in the face of unambiguous video evidence contradicting it.
From Slate ● Jan. 15, 2026
Cluny pursued doggedly, making no sudden moves, waiting for the hare to get overconfident so that he could strike.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Definitions 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.
