violently
Americanadverb
-
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.
-
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
Etymology
Origin of violently
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.
Border Patrol’s Use of Force policy permits officers to deploy “less-lethal devices,” including pepper spray, for crowd control when protesters act violently or aggressively in ways that suggest they could physically injure officers.
“It was a humbling experience for a lot of sophisticated financial investors to see such an irrational behavior driving markets so violently,” says Mudrick.
From Barron's
The shah’s monarchy and his very modern Iran were violently overthrown in 1979.
From Salon
Soon after, the dark filament detached on one side and shot outward, unrolling violently as it moved.
From Science Daily
The first major revolt against the Islamic leadership occurred in 1999, when students protesting the closure of a reformist newspaper were violently suppressed.
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.
