doggedly

American  

[daw-gid-lee, dog-id‐] / ˈdɔ gɪd li, ˈdɒg ɪd‐ /

adverb

1. in a persistent or tenacious manner.

   She worked doggedly and tirelessly, overseeing nearly every aspect of the show.

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Etymology

Origin of doggedly

dogged ¹ ( def. ) + -ly

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.

Example Sentences

The government has doggedly defended its subsidy, which at $12.3 billion represents about five percent of the total annual budget for 2026.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 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

She was also the star who most doggedly and forcefully created her public image.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

And there was Akira, doggedly eating the rest of his tan, fake mochigashi.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Related Words

• adamantly
• decisively
• persistently
• resolutely
• staunchly
• steadfastly
• strictly
• stubbornly
• tenaciously