violently

[vahy-uh-luhnt-lee, vahy-luhnt-]

adverb

1. in a way that involves uncontrolled or destructive force.

   He struck the table violently with his clenched fist and shouted for more.

   Dramatic video shows soldiers violently removing voters from polling stations.

2. in an intense or extreme way.

   He was violently ill after ten minutes, but soon recovered fully.

   We were awoken early in the morning when the house began shaking violently.

Other Word Forms

• overviolently adverb
• quasi-violently adverb
• ultraviolently adverb
• unviolently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of violently¹

violent ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

When the massive subduction zone lying under the Pacific Northwest shifts, it does so violently.

Read more on Science Daily

Victorian audiences were repelled by Henrik Ibsen’s fatally attractive newlywed who appears to have it all — the fancy house, the doting husband — only to be violently bored.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

An Israeli couple who were abducted during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks have been reunited, two years after they were violently split up.

Read more on BBC

So yeah, I just think people who are in the public eye have an experience inside of a social construct that is so violently unusual.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"And it will happen quickly and perhaps violently."

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• fiercely 
• forcefully www.thesaurus.com
• forcibly 
• intensely 
• powerfully www.thesaurus.com
• strongly 
• vigorously