mightily

[ mahyt-l-ee ]

adverb

1. in a mighty manner; powerfully or vigorously.
2. to a great extent or degree; very much:

   to desire something mightily.

ˈmightily

/ ˈmaɪtɪlɪ /

adverb

1. to a great extent, amount, or degree
2. with might; powerfully or vigorously

Word History and Origins

Origin of mightily¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English mihtiglīce. See mighty, -ly

Example Sentences

Owner Oy Changsila said the restaurant struggled mightily in 2015, its first year on Minnesota Avenue, losing nearly $70,000 with lots of employee turnover.

From Washington Post

American presidents from George Washington to John Quincy Adams all struggled mightily to exploit the rivalries among the great powers.

From Washington Post

Quarterback Carson Wentz, who struggled mightily before being benched for Jalen Hurts, also appeared to have problems with Pederson, and it’s unclear what role that played in the decision.

From Washington Post

San Francisco had been struggling mightily since regular starter Jimmy Garoppolo was lost in Week 8, but the Niners pulled out a surprising road win against the Rams on Sunday to salvage some chance at the playoffs.

From FiveThirtyEight

This year, the Martin Agency is also closing its doors for the final two weeks of the year, to recognize how much the company got done, adding new clients and turning a profit in a year when most agencies struggled mightily.

From Digiday

The music sometimes sounding like the exorcism of a multitude of demons, each one of whom was mightily resisting his expulsion.

From The Daily Beast

The videotape added nothing new to our knowledge, but it added mightily to our emotional knowledge.

From The Daily Beast

While some House members are struggling mightily, others are keeping their races at at least a dead heat.

From The Daily Beast

Squandered no matter how hard we try, how mightily we labor for special attention.

From The Daily Beast

He was understanding, he was helpful, he listened to them, and he encouraged them mightily in all their pursuits.

From The Daily Beast

Mrs. Veal had been, subject to fits, and she asks if Mrs. Bargrave does not think she is "mightily impaired by her fits?"

From Project Gutenberg

But swifter still was the hand of the deliverer.Winfried's heavy staff thrust mightily against the hammer's handle as it fell.

From Project Gutenberg

It was Sunday, moreover, and the early services in the new church helped mightily to set a new face on things.

From Project Gutenberg

He blistered Arbuthnot with abuse, swung from the newspaper office, and barged mightily down Fleet Street, a disturber of traffic.

From Project Gutenberg

The vast steam-threshers are mightily devouring what their servants, the monster steam-reapers, have gleaned for them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• energetically
• lustily
• strenuously
• strongly
• vigorously

More About Mightily

What does mightily mean?

Mightily means with might—great strength or power. To do something mightily is to do it in a strong or powerful way.

Mightily is the adverb form of the adjective mighty, which means extremely strong (as in a mighty warrior) or powerful (as in a mighty king).

Sometimes, mighty is used as a very informal way of saying very or extremely, and mightily can be used in a similar way to mean very or very much, as in I’m mightily impressed. This use of mightily can sound a bit old-fashioned or folksy.

Example: He ruled mightily, and his empire extended to the ends of the earth.

Where does mightily come from?

The first records of the word mightily come from before the 900s. It comes from the Old English mihtiglīce. The suffix -ly is used to form adverbs (the y in mighty is changed to an i in mightily, which is a spelling convention used in other adverbs whose base adjectives end in y, such as happily).

In modern speech, mightily is often intended to sound like the kind of descriptions found in older writing, such as in the Bible. This is often done to emphasize such strength, power, or greatness.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to mightily?

• mighty (adjective)
• might (noun)

What are some synonyms for mightily?

• strongly
• powerfully
• very
• extremely

What are some words that share a root or word element with mightily? 

• high and mighty
• might makes right

What are some words that often get used in discussing mightily?

• rule
• king
• queen
• warrior
• great
• power
• strength

How is mightily used in real life?

Mightily can sound somewhat formal or old-fashioned—it’s more common to use terms like powerfully in everyday conversation.

Windows is like the huge dinosaurs that once ruled mightily over the earth, but then were supplanted by much smaller, nimbler creatures.

— Keith Bluestone (@KeithBluestone) March 18, 2015

One of the finest baseball photos ever. Babe Ruth swinging mightily at the Polo Grounds in 1920. pic.twitter.com/mNRiNKidqv

— Stirrups Now! (@uniformcritic) December 18, 2020

Heck yeah – I for one am mightily impresssed by the two @TheMysterines tracks @Spotify has prompted me to listen to today :) Props all round :)

— the LOST agency PR (@thelostagencypr) February 2, 2019

 

Try using mightily!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of mightily?

A. very
B. extremely
C. powerfully
D. weakly