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pointedly

American  
[poin-tid-lee] / ˈpɔɪn tɪd li /

adverb

  1. in a marked, emphasized, or particularly directed fashion.

    Many media outlets are reporting on the incident—but pointedly avoiding showing the images at the center of the story.

    When a conference was convened to discuss a policy of settling environmental battles through negotiation, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance pointedly was not invited.

Etymology

Origin of pointedly

pointed ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In this week’s State of the Union address, the president pointedly said: “Under this administration, we will always protect Social Security and Medicare.”

From MarketWatch

She gave him an Are you crazy? look and pointedly did not step forward to talk to anyone else.

From Literature

“We were fighting about whether they were the champions,” Savolainen says, pointedly noting there were still four games left.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Or is it that his mother is too beautiful?" remarked Bronden pointedly.

From Literature

I look pointedly at her, but Pua doesn’t seem to notice our reactions, and neither does Titus.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.