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That year’s primary was hotly contested; a sitting Democratic senator whose views and decisions in office had become out of step with the majority of his party was challenged by someone who insisted upon change.—Nick Gauthier, Hartford Courant, 7 July 2025 Now Musk plans to finance races in a dozen or so hotly contested House and Senate seats critical to maintaining a Republican majority in Congress.—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 7 July 2025 Ongoing Research On Subliminal Messaging Our full understanding of the impacts of subliminal messaging is still being hotly debated.—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025 Figma was valued at a rich $12.5 billion in a tender offer last year — which would make its IPO hotly anticipated.—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for hotly
Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of hotly was
before the 12th century
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