Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use intently in a sentence

18 example sentences · adverb

Intently means in an intent or focused manner. Example: “Little, bloodshot, close-set eyes scanned her intently, roving from time to time about the open beach for indications of the presence of others than herself.”

Examples of intently by meaning

adverbIn an intent or focused manner.

  • Little, bloodshot, close-set eyes scanned her intently, roving from time to time about the open beach for indications of the presence of others than herself.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 193

More sentences with intently

  • Linda eyed Teddy intently, he was still glauming his mind for something, anything.2022 October 19, Bongani Prince Zwane, The Ballarag's imagination Rush, Ukiyoto Publishing, →ISBN, page 213. From the entry glaum
  • We were all focused intently on the triangular conference call speaker in the middle of the table.2021, Alexander S. Vindman, “Impeachable Offense”, in Here, Right Matters: An American Story, HarperCollins, →ISBN. From the entry place
  • He paused, looking at me intently, his black-flecked eyes scanning my face in quick saccades.2019, Ian McEwan, Machines Like Me, Jonathan Cape, page 23. From the entry saccade
  • Branca, concentrating so intently that he didn't hear the braying crowd, threw a hummer down the middle.2015, Andrew Goldblatt, The Giants and the Dodgers, page 115. From the entry hummer
  • Simon noticed a groundling look intently at Walsingham's purse and nudge his mate.2008, John Lambshead, Lucy's Blade, →ISBN, page 184. From the entry groundling
  • He hissed air intently through a gap in his upper teeth.1976, Ira Levin, The Boys from Brazil, New York: Dell, published 1977, Part 1, p. 16. From the entry hiss
  • Fanny, red-cheeked and bright-eyed from her recent mental struggles, listened interestedly, then intently, then absorbedly.1917, Edna Ferber, Fanny Herself, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, pages 65–66. From the entry absorbedly
  • All three listened intently as the tech guy demonstrated where to find the on-off switch on the handheld microphone.2022, Jane Harper, Exiles, page 123. From the entry handheld
  • Zhai Tingshen stood at the window upstairs, his black eyes staring intently at the figure that was tightly hugged below.2020, Zhenyinfang, Marital Passion. From the entry hug
  • “Perhaps she is mistaking salmagundi for Solomon Gundy, a kind of pickled fish paste from Jamaica.” I listened intently.2016, Dorothea Jensen, A Buss From Lafayette, BQB Publishing, →ISBN. From the entry solomon gundy
  • Again Abdullah listened intently, his eyes closed, his ten fingers forming a temple of his hands in front of him.2010, James LePore, A World I Never Made, page 251. From the entry temple
  • There was always the possibility that he might be trapped by a creeper, but May watched the ball intently.2009, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes, page 292. From the entry creeper
  • Is your cat intently staring out the window at a bird on a branch and “chattering” in a kind of shaky, high-pitched, breathy way?2016, David Meyer, Abbie Moore, Pia Salk, The Total Cat Manual, Weldon Owen International, →ISBN. From the entry chatter
  • He sat quite still, listening intently, sometimes spluttering with laughter when I made a specially odd face, sometimes receiving me in preoccupied silence.1959, Anthony Glyn, chapter 8, in I Can Take It All, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, published 1960, →LCCN, page 167. From the entry spluttery
  • Nay, fear not, birdling! let me gently Uplift and hold thee in my hand; Thou gazest on me so intently, Thou must my motive understand.1913, John L. Stoddard, Poems. From the entry birdling
  • The sealskinned gentleman received the tire, placed it inside the car, gazed intently at the ex-coachman, and muttered to himself inscrutable words.1910, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “The Fifth Wheel”, in Strictly Business: More Stories of the Four Million, New York…. From the entry sealskinned
  • He stood there smoking a rolled quirley cigarette held in his left hand, looking back, intently, at the spot where the portly judge had just disappeared down the Pullman aisle.1974, Bill Burchardt, The birth of Logan Station, page 26. From the entry quirley

Meaning of intently

  1. adverb In an intent or focused manner.

Full definition of intently

Questions about intently in a sentence

How do you use intently in a sentence?
Intently is used as an adverb. For example: “Little, bloodshot, close-set eyes scanned her intently, roving from time to time about the open beach for indications of the presence of others than herself.”
What is a short sentence with intently?
“He hissed air intently through a gap in his upper teeth.”
What does intently mean?
Intently means in an intent or focused manner.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: intently (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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