sharply
/ˈʃɑːpli
/adverb
1With a sharp or steeply tapering edge or point: a sharply pointed tail sharply toothed jaws sharply angular buildings...
- They are oriented either to the cathedral and the sharply angled, gorgeously finished campanile or to the plaza with olive trees and other symbolic plants.
- The massive, fortified churches in Estonia are characteristic of the Roman style, in spite of their sharply arched portals and arches.
- Cedar cladding and roofing echo the wooded surroundings, while sharply pitched gables keep the home's scale from overwhelming the hilltop.
2With a sudden, piercing physical sensation or effect; intensely: my mouth stings sharply champagne can be sharply acidic...
- This chilli pepper is very small and bites sharply.
- These tomatillos are small, sharply flavoured fruits.
- The Central Coast Sauvignon Blancs smack sharply of the herbaceous or grassy flavours for which the Sauvignon is so widely noted.
2.1In a critical or hurtful manner; strongly or harshly: the plans have been sharply criticized he made enemies by his sharply worded attacks on opponents...
- The trend to emphasize the autonomy of form and dismiss subject matter was sharply criticized by the art historian.
- He could be sharply satirical, and occasionally he expressed himself in a totally different vein, as in this hauntingly melancholic marine picture.
- Erasmus sharply criticized the theory of 'just war'.
3In a way that is distinct in outline or detail; clearly: the waitress had a sharply defined jaw sharply delineated images...
- The brushwork is delicate, each brick sharply defined, the leaves on trees flawlessly rendered, window reflections given an equally discerning treatment.
- Unlike the sharply delineated black-and-white images of empty theatres and seascapes for which he is best known, these photographs are intentionally fuzzy.
- Nearer petals are thickly troweled yellow dabs that stand out sharply from a thinner lavender ground, where petals and twigs merge as they lose focus.
4With a sudden and marked change; dramatically: housing values have risen sharply a sharply deteriorating economy...
- Despite increases in Canada's planted corn area, US corn sales rose sharply to meet feed grain demand.
- Co-op members could be charged substantial taxes on the gain in their co-op stock value, which has risen sharply.
- By summer, rhetoric shifted sharply in the dealer's favor.
4.1With a sudden change of direction: his car swerved sharply to the left each roof has ends that curve sharply upward...
- One facade angles back sharply from the corner, where an open structural frame denotes the entrance.
- Take the gesture, as in these statues, of lifting the hem of a skirt, or pulling it sharply to one side.
- Visitors' cars arrive via a narrow road and pass a security checkpoint before swinging sharply into a paved drive.
5With speed of perception, comprehension, or response: a sharply observed account he had to react sharply to repel a shot at his near post...
- He can take the service to Watford, sharply noting en route such gems as Berkhamsted, where Graham Greene went to school.
- The details of these walls are so sharply caught that one is reminded of similar walls in one's life.
- The images look very good, the transfer sharply capturing the nuances of light and shade.