Basic Details
Word: Heavily
Part of Speech: Adverb
Meaning: With great weight or force, or to a large degree, as in 'it rained heavily' or 'he depends heavily on his brother'.
Synonyms: hard, greatly, intensely
Antonyms: lightly, slightly, gently
How to Spell Heavily
Syllables: heav - i - ly
Tricky part: The 'hev' sound is spelt hea, and the y of heavy turns into i before ly.
Watch out for: heavyly, hevily, heavilly
Memory tip: Write heavy, rub out the y, and put i + ly in its place. The ea stays put from start to finish.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The tired porter breathed heavily as he climbed the steps.
Example 2: The town relies heavily on tourists during the winter months.
Example 3: Snow fell heavily on the pass, and the army closed the road.
Fun Fact
Heavily is often used for things that have no weight at all, such as heavily guarded, heavily taxed or heavily criticised.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word heavily as used in the sentence:
It rained heavily all night, and by morning the lane outside our gate had turned into a stream.
a) steadily
b) fiercely
c) lightly
d) hard
Show answer
c) lightly. Rain that falls heavily falls hard; the reverse is rain that falls lightly.
Word Cookie
Choose the correct letters to fill in the blanks:
h_av_ly
a) e, y
b) a, i
c) e, i
d) e, e
Show answer
c) e, i. Heavy keeps its ea, and its y changes to i before ly.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The donkey walked lvhiyea up the slope under its load of bricks.
a) heftily
b) hazily
c) heavily
d) heavenly
Show answer
c) heavily. There are seven letters here, and heavenly would need eight; heavily is the fit.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A heavily guarded fort is protected ____.
a) by one tired guard
b) by nobody at all
c) by many guards
d) by a few sleepy dogs
Show answer
c) by many guards
2. In which phrase does heavily have nothing to do with weight?
a) heavily outnumbered
b) a heavily loaded truck
c) stepped heavily onto the scale
d) a heavily packed suitcase
Show answer
a) heavily outnumbered
