Forcefully

How to spell forcefully

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce forcefully

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does forcefully mean?

1. adverbIn a way that uses strength, energy, or strong conviction.

Forcefully in a sentence

• She argued forcefully for a larger budget at the board meeting.

• He pushed the jammed drawer forcefully until it finally opened.

Where does forcefully come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb is built on the noun and verb 'force', which came into English in the 1200s from Old French 'force', itself drawn from the Late Latin 'fortia', a noun meaning 'strength' or 'might'. That in turn rests on the classical Latin adjective 'fortis', which literally meant 'strong' or 'brave' and is the same root that gives us 'fortitude' and 'effort'. English speakers added the native suffix '-ful', meaning 'full of' or 'characterised by', to form the adjective 'forceful', describing something done with great strength. The further adverbial ending '-ly' was then attached to express the manner of an action. A useful spelling note is that the silent 'e' of 'force' is kept before the consonant of '-ful', so the word reads as force + ful + ly, and the '-ful' suffix carries only one 'l' even though the adverb ending adds a second.

How the word is built

• force (from Latin fortis: strong)
• -ful (full of, characterised by)
• -ly (adverb suffix)