crying heavily

USAGE SUMMARY

"crying heavily" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you want to describe someone who is crying very intensely. For example, "The sad little girl was crying heavily when her grandmother said goodbye."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

"He keeps shouting and is crying heavily as he's being led out," she added.

Independent

What should have happened: The winner should've been forced to samba very sadly to "Everybody Hurts" while crying heavily into a microphone.

Huffington Post

What should have happened: The loser should've been forced to samba very sadly to "Everybody Hurts" while crying heavily into a microphone.

Huffington Post

She and Carla, the African American housekeeper who spends so much of her time raising the Drapers' kids, are both crying heavily as the Cronkite confirmation comes that President Kennedy is in fact dead.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

One young girl, Bircan Dolgun, had her scarf swept from her head down to her shoulders as she cried heavily near the fallen dormitory.

The New York Times

She cried heavily.

BBC

Quatrain 3 begins again with the transition word "Then," and further develops the idea using the language of commerce (accounts, payment): Not only do I cry, but I cry heavily, as though I've never mourned this loss before.

WikiHow

"She had a specific fur stole that she wore to every opening of Oscar's for good luck, and I cried so heavily I stained it".

The New York Times - Magazine

Microsoft, despite preferring that business customers use its full stack, will likely see more buy-in of its premier subscription service, so it can't cry too heavily into its hands that OneDrive might lose market share among enterprise customers.

TechCrunch

Bossis noted that Mettes was crying and breathing heavily.

The New Yorker

The young girl appeared seriously distressed, shouting, crying and breathing heavily in front of a live studio audience during the row, which erupted after she was accused by her sister of stealing items from their mother.

Independent

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "crying heavily" to vividly depict intense sadness or emotional distress in a scene, adding emotional depth to your writing.

Common error

Avoid using "crying heavily" in contexts where a simple expression of sadness is sufficient. Overusing it can make your writing melodramatic or insincere.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "crying heavily" functions as a verbal phrase describing an action performed with a high degree of intensity. It combines the gerund "crying", indicating the activity, with the adverb "heavily", which modifies and intensifies the action, describing the manner in which the action is performed. Ludwig confirms this is correct and usable.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Wiki

8%

Science

7%

Less common in

Formal & Business

6%

Academia

2%

Reference

2%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "crying heavily" is a grammatically correct and usable phrase that vividly describes intense sadness or emotional distress. As Ludwig AI confirms, it is appropriate for adding emotional depth to writing. While its use is relatively rare, it appears most frequently in news and media contexts. Alternatives such as "weeping profusely" or "sobbing uncontrollably" can be used depending on the specific nuance desired. When using this phrase, writers should avoid overuse to prevent melodrama and ensure the context warrants such a strong expression of emotion.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

weeping profusely

Replaces "crying" with a more formal synonym and "heavily" with a synonym indicating abundance.

crying one's eyes out

Uses an idiomatic expression to convey intense sadness.

sobbing uncontrollably

Substitutes "crying" with "sobbing" to emphasize the gasping nature of crying and "heavily" with "uncontrollably" to highlight the lack of restraint.

pouring tears

Emphasizes the continuous flow of tears.

shedding copious tears

Uses a more descriptive and figurative expression for intense crying.

crying buckets

Uses a colloquial idiom to depict a large quantity of tears.

bawling loudly

Replaces "crying" with a more colloquial term and "heavily" with an adverb emphasizing volume.

grief-stricken sobbing

Highlights the cause of the intense crying, focusing on deep sorrow.

inconsolable weeping

Focuses on the state of being unable to be comforted while weeping.

utterly heartbroken

Shifts the focus from the act of crying to the feeling of extreme sadness.

FAQs

How can I use "crying heavily" in a sentence?

You can use "crying heavily" to describe someone experiencing intense sadness or grief. For example, "She was "crying heavily" after hearing the news."

What are some alternatives to "crying heavily"?

Alternatives include "sobbing uncontrollably", "weeping profusely", or "shedding copious tears", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it redundant to say "crying heavily"? Can you cry lightly?

While "crying" itself implies the shedding of tears, adding "heavily" emphasizes the intensity and volume of the tears, indicating a deeper emotional state. So, it is not strictly redundant but rather descriptive.

What's the difference between "crying heavily" and "weeping"?

"Crying heavily" describes the act of shedding tears with great intensity, while "weeping" ("weeping") is a more formal and often quieter expression of sorrow. "Crying heavily" suggests a more visible and audible display of emotion.