1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
plodded night and day to get the assignment done
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
oxen plodding through deep mud
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plod
At the start of this stylish but plodding film, which premiered at SXSW ahead of its March 27 release on Prime Video, the suburban mother loses a pearl earring.
—
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2025
The dramatized version simply floats, roils and plods forward as if being tugged dutifully along, ticking off checkpoints along the way.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2025
There are some baffling tonal shifts between goofy sci-fi and high drama and the whole thing just takes too long to get going, spending much of its runtime plodding around on Earth.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025
The sequel to last season’s thrilling run to the Western Conference finals has been plodding, a hard-to-watch mix of turnovers, isolation dribbling and slow pace.
—Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plod
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2025
The dramatized version simply floats, roils and plods forward as if being tugged dutifully along, ticking off checkpoints along the way.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2025
There are some baffling tonal shifts between goofy sci-fi and high drama and the whole thing just takes too long to get going, spending much of its runtime plodding around on Earth.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025
The sequel to last season’s thrilling run to the Western Conference finals has been plodding, a hard-to-watch mix of turnovers, isolation dribbling and slow pace.
—Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 18 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plod
Verb
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By the time Bush left office, major banks and investment banks were struggling to stay alive, and that was just the ones that didn’t die in 2008.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
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Too often over the last few years, the Red Sox have struggled to dispatch bad teams.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Hartford Courant,
11 May 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, the only truly happy artist in Ira’s friend group — played to uproarious perfection by Stanley Tucci — isn’t even much of an artist at all but a shameless name-dropper who seems to stumble into constant success without even trying.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
9 May 2025
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Still, many times, most seasoned and skilled leaders stumble from time to time.—
Phil Portman,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
Verb
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Andre needs some help The Brazil international midfielder dragged himself from the field near the end on Saturday, with Pereira later allaying any fears about an injury.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
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Gunther dragged Cole into the ring and threatened to power bomb Cole before McAfee interrupted with a bicycle kick.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
11 May 2025
Verb
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In recent months though, and as the weather’s picked up, another style of jeans has been shuffling their way onto our moodboards.—
Daisy Jones,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
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No more shuffling through your wallet for cash or a credit card.—
Houston Mitchell,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Cupich described the pope as an organized and meticulous worker who is humble and strives to take in a variety of different perspectives.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2025
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Martinez also serves as a mentor for both the Reel Champs’ Executive Diversity Mentorship Program, as well as the Group Effort Initiative Mentorship Program, which strives to create a pipeline for members of underrepresented communities to establish long-term careers within entertainment.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
8 May 2025
Verb
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Former Everton forward Richarlison did his own emotional lap of his former home — a slow, shirtless, bittersweet trudge back through memory lane — after Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 defeat at Goodison in January.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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Amid all the chaos, the Pirates are trudging through a mediocre season.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2025
Verb
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When the window broke, the bear crawled out safely and returned to the woods.—
Shyla Watson,
People.com,
10 May 2025
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Inspectors saw one rat crawling from the top equipment shelf in an unapproved back dry storage area onto the roof, and another rat on an electrical line behind a two-door household freezer/refrigerator in the same dry storage area.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
9 May 2025
Verb
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Between swapping lines, the two stomped along in rhythm as pyrotechnics framed the stage in flames.—
Matthew Leimkuehler,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2025
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The picture smacks you with mini-LED punch, deep contrast, and a 144 Hz refresh that keeps Valorant razor-smooth while AMD FreeSync stomps tearing.—
Shubham Yewale,
PC Magazine,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plod. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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