1
2
as in to pry
to draw out by force or with effort
the dentist had to struggle to pull the tooth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in tug
the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force
I gave the door such a pull that when it suddenly opened, I nearly fell backwards
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in influence
the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly
their lawyer supposedly has a lot of pull with the administration in Washington
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in advantage
the more favorable condition or position in a competition
a political candidate with all of the pull that comes with a vast fortune and famous surname
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of pull
Wcco Staff, CBS News, 9 May 2026
Kreider, along with Beckett Sennecke, made the game mildly interesting in the third period with goals to chip away at what was a 5-0 deficit, after which Quenneville pulled goalie Ville Husso with 4½ minutes left to try to pull closer.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 9 May 2026
Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 6 May 2026
Questions and responses flow as a continuous interplay of thoughts instead of operating in abrupt pull-away dialogue boxes.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pull
Verb
The other canoer, a 63-year-old Duluth man, was pulled under by strong currents but managed to reach shore.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 9 May 2026
Kreider, along with Beckett Sennecke, made the game mildly interesting in the third period with goals to chip away at what was a 5-0 deficit, after which Quenneville pulled goalie Ville Husso with 4½ minutes left to try to pull closer.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 9 May 2026
Noun
If an oversized button-down is my go-to travel top, pull-on linen pants are my preferred bottoms.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 6 May 2026
Questions and responses flow as a continuous interplay of thoughts instead of operating in abrupt pull-away dialogue boxes.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pull
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pull
Verb
-
The launch vehicle—made up of SpaceX’s Super Heavy Version 3 (V3) booster and Starship—stands some 124 meters tall and is designed to haul up to 150 metric of cargo into space in its fully reusable configuration.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
12 May 2026
-
Dragon is the only ISS resupply ship that can haul material down to Earth.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
The Moon in Capricorn moves through your 3rd House, opposing Jupiter in your 9th, stretching the gap between details and interpretation.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
7 May 2026
-
San Antonio stretched its lead to as many as 47 points on the way to leveling the series at one game apiece.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Give the potato a gentle tug to check for resistance.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
10 May 2026
-
Kalundborg, Denmark — On a boat off Kalundborg harbor, Martin Høgh Sørensen steers while his wife, Karin, and friends Michael and Anne-Louise Eliasen tug and wind ropes to maneuver the sails.—
Anna Cooban,
CNN Money,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Bradley’s film choreography, even in the numbers that Footer deems masterpieces, is above average, clever and assured, but Astaire’s art—inconceivable without the enormous influence of Bradley’s Black contemporaries, like John Bubbles—is in another league.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
When Florida needs a federal program or federal funding for something, how will a state delegation with so little influence be able to convince the rest of the House Democrats?—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
Turn back the tape just a few weeks ago, to when the Five Stripes relinquished a 1-0 advantage in the final stretch to lose at home 2-1.—
Amna Subhan,
AJC.com,
10 May 2026
-
Blackwood made the initial stop, but Faber was there at the edge of the crease and the puck went off the Minnesota defenseman’s body and into the net to restore the three-goal advantage.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
The Carboniferous period dragged on for sixty million.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
-
Perhaps the aether did exist, but it could never be construed as being in motion by an observer on the Earth, because the aether itself was being dragged by objects traveling through space, such as the Earth, explaining why a null result was obtained.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Now, the Sentinel has learned, Florida is taking an inconsistent approach to cleaning up its mess, yanking the licenses of 47 nurses who attended schools cited by the FBI but allowing others to keep working, even when it has been alerted to their shortcomings.—
Annie Martin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 May 2026
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On Tuesday, Carr tweeted that the FCC was wrong to yank an $886 million broadband-buildout award from SpaceX in 2022 on the grounds that Starlink could not meet speed requirements throughout its service areas and would cost too much.—
Rob Pegoraro,
PC Magazine,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
But second-year point guard Carla Leite, who had hurt her ankle earlier in the evening, blew by Jones in isolation to tie the score 96-96 with 27 seconds to play.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
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Qi Wang Chief Investment Officer (Wealth Management) Additionally, Taiwan and Korea are large energy importers, meaning higher oil prices from Middle East tensions could hurt their purchasing power and international competitiveness, even as AI demand boosts exports.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pull.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pull. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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