as in actively
in a manner involving great or constant activity
the deadline is in two days, so everyone in the department has been working busily
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Recent Examples of busily
In another slightly opposite situation, an actress left the stage and grabbed the cell phone from a member of the audience who was busily texting, totally ignoring the play.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2026
As part of its international expansion beyond North America and the UK, Substack is busily hiring partnership leads in additional markets like Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the Nordics.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
Getty Images—2026 Getty Images At the same time, Denmark has been busily bolstering its military presence in Greenland.
—Lisa Abend, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
No matter what happens Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game between Indiana and Miami — a game that will be played in South Florida — Columbus will be busily celebrating the sight of alums hoisting the national championship trophy.
—CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
First-year Arkansas Coach Ryan Silverfield and staff are busily in the process of restocking the roster -- at quarterback and many key defensive positions -- through the portal, as has become the custom in recent years for the Razorbacks and the rest of the FBS.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 3 Jan. 2026
Sohn lived busily, working for a trading company in the 1980s and ’90s, even being deployed to California and Southeast Asia.
—Gawon Bae, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
One story of the Desert Fathers recounts a sighting of a demon perched on the top of the monastery, busily scribbling down all the faults of the brothers within.
—JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
In both cases, as the danger was spreading through the waters of the Florida reefs, scientists were busily yanking surviving corals out of the water and saving them in aquariums across the state.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Feb. 2026
As part of its international expansion beyond North America and the UK, Substack is busily hiring partnership leads in additional markets like Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the Nordics.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 4 Feb. 2026
Getty Images—2026 Getty Images At the same time, Denmark has been busily bolstering its military presence in Greenland.
—Lisa Abend, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
No matter what happens Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game between Indiana and Miami — a game that will be played in South Florida — Columbus will be busily celebrating the sight of alums hoisting the national championship trophy.
—CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
First-year Arkansas Coach Ryan Silverfield and staff are busily in the process of restocking the roster -- at quarterback and many key defensive positions -- through the portal, as has become the custom in recent years for the Razorbacks and the rest of the FBS.
—Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 3 Jan. 2026
Sohn lived busily, working for a trading company in the 1980s and ’90s, even being deployed to California and Southeast Asia.
—Gawon Bae, CNN Money, 25 Dec. 2025
One story of the Desert Fathers recounts a sighting of a demon perched on the top of the monastery, busily scribbling down all the faults of the brothers within.
—JSTOR Daily, 31 Oct. 2025
In both cases, as the danger was spreading through the waters of the Florida reefs, scientists were busily yanking surviving corals out of the water and saving them in aquariums across the state.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for busily
Adverb
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These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Feb. 2026
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Aurora also remains actively engaged with agricultural partners, providing long-term support to rural communities even after water rights are transferred.—
Mike Coffman,
Denver Post,
10 Feb. 2026
Adverb
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Within the healthy low-carb diet category, people who most diligently followed that diet had a 15% lower risk of coronary heart disease compared to the least diligent people.—
Barbara Mantel,
NBC news,
11 Feb. 2026
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Like Victor Frankenstein, who diligently selects body parts from corpses to stitch together his humanoid creation, the Mexican director carefully assembled his troupe of movie magicians.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Busily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/busily. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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