Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use pointedly in a sentence

13 example sentences · adverb

Pointedly means explicitly; with emphasis; so as to make a point, especially with criticism. Example: “I was pointedly ignored.”

Examples of pointedly by meaning

adverbExplicitly; with emphasis; so as to make a point, especially with criticism.

  • "A killer." The question is pointedly unresolved here.2023 March 14, Caryn James, “John Wick: Chapter 4: 'Soars above most action films'”, in BBC

adverbMarkedly, intentionally conspicuously.

  • I was pointedly ignored.

More sentences with pointedly

  • "Guess I'll do some diving from the raft today," I said, pointedly, to Sonny.1989, Helen Harris Perlman, The Dancing Clock, and Other Childhood Memories, page 95. From the entry ish ka bibble
  • Metseydi had been drawing increasing crowds with sermons that condemned the government’s religious restrictions, most pointedly on head coverings.2013 August 26, Andrew Jacobs, “Over News of Clash, a Shroud of Silence in Xinjiang”, in New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the…. From the entry Hanerik
  • In recovering the pointedly Spinozist impulse, the deeper critical motivation behind Heine's seemingly lighthanded poetic playfulness comes to the fore.2004, Willi Goetschel, Spinoza's Modernity: Mendelssohn, Lessing, and Heine, →ISBN, page 268. From the entry light-handed
  • Madouc was neither pleased nor impressed by Prince Bittern’s mannerisms, and remained pointedly unresponsive to his lame jocularities.1989, Jack Vance, chapter 4, in Madouc. From the entry jocularity
  • Bateson ("Behavioural development and evolutionary processes") pointedly locutes what R.1983, Mary Jane West-Eberhard, “Review: Current Problems in Sociobiology: An Adaptationist Review”, in Evolution, volume 37, pages 1325–1326. From the entry locute
  • They followed him like Kindergärtner as he pointedly moved away from the Owl before allowing someone to light him up.1976, John Kelly, The Wooden Wolf, New York, N.Y.: Golden Apple Publications, published 1983, →ISBN, page 212. From the entry light up
  • Inevitably his appeals for financial assistance were ignored and, though not cashiered from the army, he was pointedly cold-shouldered by his brother officers.2012, Jonathan Keates, “Mon Père, ce héros”, in Literary Review, section 402. From the entry cashier
  • Affronted, Mutt flounced back to the fireplace, pawed the quilt into a pile, and lay down with her back pointedly to Kate.2007, Dana Stabenow, A Deeper Sleep, →ISBN, page 276. From the entry another country heard from
  • Sentimental misandrics, for example, focus attention on the warm and cosy features of womanhood, contrasting them pointedly with the sinister and threatening features of manhood.2001, Paul Nathanson, Katherine K. Young, Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture, page 277. From the entry misandric
  • TOURTIÈRE, scrawled across the top of the white card in my mother’s unwieldy handwriting, an accent grave raising its head pointedly above the ‘E.’ Below, a list of ingredients.2018 November 30, Isabelle Bourgeault-Tassé, “How a family recipe taught me what’s at stake when Franco-Ontarians lose their roots”, in…. From the entry accent grave
  • The record ends with audio clips of Elvis singing pointedly, “I wanna play house with you” and “We’re gonna kiss and kiss . . . kiss some more.”2017, Richard Aquila, Let’s Rock! How 1950s America Created Elvis and the Rock & Roll Craze, Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN…. From the entry audio clip

Meaning of pointedly

  1. adverb Explicitly; with emphasis; so as to make a point, especially with criticism.
  2. adverb Wittily or pithily.
  3. adverb Markedly, intentionally conspicuously.

Full definition of pointedly

Questions about pointedly in a sentence

How do you use pointedly in a sentence?
Pointedly is used as an adverb. For example: “I was pointedly ignored.”
What is a short sentence with pointedly?
“I was pointedly ignored.”
What does pointedly mean?
Pointedly means explicitly; with emphasis; so as to make a point, especially with criticism.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pointedly (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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Cite this page: “How to use pointedly in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/pointedly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.