intently

adverb

in·​tent·​ly in-ˈtent-lē 

: in an intent or concentrated manner : with great effort, attention, or concentration

Their eyes, when they look at you and listen intently, focus like laser beams.

—Molly Haskell

He turned back to face her again and stared at her most intently.

—Robert C. O'Brien

Synonyms

• amain
• arduously
• assiduously
• determinedly
• diligently
• doggedly
• hard
• hardly
• industriously
• intensely
• intensively
• laboriously
• mightily
• purposefully
• resolutely
• sedulously
• slavishly
• strenuously

Examples of intently in a Sentence

intently studied his notes just before the exam

Recent Examples on the Web

Historically, Chime has focused more intently on getting customers to sign up for direct deposit than Cash App. —Jeff Kauflin, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

Kim Kardashian listens intently to Bowen Yang by the bar. —Elise Taylor, Vogue, 17 Feb. 2025

Oliveira, known by neighbors as a quiet tenant who frequently could be seen sitting and writing intently in her tidy apartment with the door ajar, did not survive. —Ellen Moynihan, New York Daily News, 1 Feb. 2025

The sample was then flown back to Earth, touching down in Utah in 2023 – and scientists have been studying it intently ever since. —Michael Irving, New Atlas, 30 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for intently

• gently