heartily
B1Pronunciation
UK
- /hˈɑːtɪli/
US
- /ˈhɑrtəli/
Description
- enthusiastically
- warmly
- sincerely
- thoroughly
- vigorously
To do something heartily means to do it with real feeling and strong energy. If your grandmother offers you cookies, you might heartily thank her, showing warm and sincere gratitude. It often suggests that someone is fully involved and not holding back. You can laugh heartily, eat heartily, agree heartily, or disagree heartily. The word gives a sense of openness and honest feeling.
Think of it like this: if someone offers help, accepting it heartily means doing so gladly and with true appreciation. If you do not accept it heartily, you may do so in a cold or unwilling way. The word is not just about the action itself, but about doing it fully and sincerely.
"Heartily" describes doing something with sincere feeling, warmth, and strong enthusiasm. It goes beyond simply doing an action; it suggests full involvement and genuine emotion. For example, "They greeted their guests heartily" suggests that they welcomed them with warmth and obvious goodwill.
The word comes from "heart," which helps explain its sense of real feeling. You might heartily congratulate a friend on their success, meaning you do so with true joy. You might also heartily disagree with a proposal, showing strong and clear opposition rather than mild doubt.
"Heartily" is not limited to happy situations. It can also describe the strength or completeness of a reaction. Someone may eat heartily, laugh heartily, approve heartily, or be heartily sick of a problem, meaning they are completely tired of it.
Today, it is most often used to describe the way something is done, with emphasis on sincerity, energy, and fullness of feeling. When you use "heartily," you show that a person truly means what they say or do, and that they are putting real feeling into the action.
Examples
- 1
Shared laughter
We all laughed heartily at his story.
- 2
Appetite
After the hike, everyone ate heartily.
- 3
Warm welcome
She welcomed us heartily when we arrived.
- 4
Strong agreement
I heartily agree with your decision.
Pattern
heartily agree with + person/idea
agree very strongly
- 5
Strong recommendation
Several former clients heartily recommended her.
Pattern
heartily recommend + person/thing
recommend very strongly
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- heartilyadverb