Meaning & use
passionately
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Meanings
adverbcomparable
In a way that shows very strong feeling or enthusiasm.
Grammar: Goes with verbs of speaking, feeling and believing: she argued passionately.
Patterns
- speak passionately about something
- believe passionately in something
She spoke passionately about protecting the river.
He passionately believes that every child should learn to swim.
The fans cheered passionately for their team.
adverbcomparable
In a manner full of romantic or physical desire.
Grammar: Used with verbs such as kiss, embrace or love.
Patterns
- love someone passionately
- kiss someone passionately
They kissed passionately at the station.
He loved her passionately for the rest of his life.
Word forms
| comparative | more passionately |
|---|---|
| superlative | most passionately |
Common combinations
- argue passionately
- The lawyers argued passionately for their client.
- believe passionately in
- She believes passionately in free education.
- speak passionately about
- He speaks passionately about music.
- care passionately about
- We care passionately about clean air.
- love passionately
- He loved his craft passionately.
- defend passionately
- The coach defended his players passionately.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fervently
- Fervently is more formal and often used for belief or hope, as in fervently hoped.
- ardently
- Ardently is literary and suggests warm, steady devotion.
- zealously
- Zealously suggests eager, almost relentless effort for a cause.
- intensely
- Intensely describes the strength of a feeling or action but does not suggest emotion as strongly as passionately.
Opposites
Word family
- passion noun
- a very strong feeling or enthusiasm
- passionate adjective
- showing strong feeling
- passionateness noun
- the quality of showing strong feeling
- dispassionately adverb
- without showing strong feeling
Commonly confused: passionately or compassionately?
passionately vs compassionately
Compassionately means in a caring and sympathetic way, while passionately means with intense feeling.
Practice
She argued ______ for the new library, giving up her weekends to collect signatures.
Choose one answer.
Passionately shows strong commitment, which matches giving up weekends. The other adverbs show little interest.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “passionately”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.