The Adverb of Heavy: Heavily
The adverb of heavy is heavily.
How heavily is formed
Consonant plus -y, so the y becomes i: heavy → heavi + ly = heavily.
The same rule as clumsy → clumsily and steady → steadily. Note that the word gains a syllable: heavy has two, heavily has three.
Heavily in a sentence
| It rained heavily all afternoon. | Intensity, not weight. By far the most common sense. |
| He leaned heavily on the railing. | Putting real weight on something. |
| The report borrows heavily from earlier work. | Figurative: to a large extent. |
The mistake to watch for
| Incorrect | Correct |
| heavyly | heavily |
The y changes to i. This word is common enough that the misspelling stands out immediately to a reader.
Related forms
Pronunciation: HEAV-i-ly, three syllables. The adjective has two.
| Adjective | heavy |
| Adverb | heavily |
| Noun | heaviness |
| Comparative | heavier / more heavily |
Where it is actually used
Knowing the form is one thing; knowing the company a word keeps is what makes it sound natural. These are the patterns heavily appears in most often.
| rain / snow heavily | Intensity of weather. The most frequent use of the word. |
| rely / depend / borrow heavily on | To a large extent. |
| heavily armed / criticised / influenced | Before a past participle. This is one of the most productive patterns in English. |
Heavily or something else?
Several adverbs sit close to heavily, and the difference between them is usually meaning rather than formality.
| hard | Informal for weather: it rained hard. Not usable before a participle. |
| greatly | Formal, and only for the figurative sense. Greatly influenced, never greatly raining. |
| intensely | About concentration of feeling or effort, not quantity. |
Practice
Fill the gap, then check yourself.
- The team relies ___ on one supplier.
- It rained ___ for three days.
- He was ___ influenced by his teacher.
Answers: 1. heavily 2. heavily 3. heavily / greatly
Frequently asked
Can heavy be an adverb?
Only in fixed or poetic phrases such as time hangs heavy. In ordinary sentences the adverb is heavily.
