vigorously
Americanadverb
-
with active strength or force; energetically or powerfully: Fast food is marketed vigorously through heavy television advertising.
Combine all ingredients in the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously until the egg white is foamy.
Fast food is marketed vigorously through heavy television advertising.
-
with robust health or vitality.
Many plant species that don’t do well in shaded conditions will grow vigorously in full sunlight.
Other Word Forms
- overvigorously adverb
- supervigorously adverb
- unvigorously adverb
Etymology
Origin of vigorously
Explanation
When you do something in a forceful or intense way, you do it vigorously. If you're trying to figure out which of your brothers ate the last of the cookies, it's probably the one who's denying it most vigorously. The adverb vigorously has the English root "vigor," which comes from the Latin word vigere, meaning to be lively or flourish. Synonyms for vigorously include energetically, forcefully, and strenuously. If you're trying to lose weight, you should eat fewer cookies and walk vigorously every day, and if you want to get your dishes really clean, you'll have to scrub them vigorously.
Vocabulary lists containing vigorously
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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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.
They also are sensitive to environmental conditions and can change chemical composition if stored at the wrong temperatures or shaken too vigorously, increasing the risk of an immune response or decreasing their effectiveness.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Rightmove said the claim was "without merit, and we will defend it vigorously", adding it is "confident in the value we provide to our partners and consumers."
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Fish on longer lifespan trajectories swam more vigorously and reached higher speeds when moving around the tank.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
“David Protein stands firmly behind the accuracy of its labeling and will vigorously defend it.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
He scrubbed vigorously, sending up clouds of dust.
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.
