1
as in extending
to extend outwards from or as if from a central point
The suburbs sprawl for miles beyond the city's downtown.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in sitting
to rest with the arms and legs spread out
There's no feeling like sprawling out on your bed after a hard day's work.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sprawling
The vast, sprawling Conjuring franchise, which began back in 2013, has spawned a complex web of sequels, prequels and spin-offs, some of which are loosely based on cases covered by paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren.
—
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Both countries offer amazing wildlife, sprawling game parks, and beautiful beaches.
—Kent Redding, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2025
Picture pool days sprawling out on your outdoor sofa with one of these sunny pillows supporting your head or propping up a book.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2025
In May, a sprawling bamboo scaffold was built in the courtyard of Venice’s Campo della Tana, as part of a showcase exploring the diverse and often juxtaposing aspects of public space in Hong Kong, with a focus on threatened heritage.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Initially dismissed as an accident, Charles, Oliver and Mabel dive headfirst into the investigation, uncovering a sprawling conspiracy that stretches beyond the building’s walls and entangles New York’s old mob families with its newest billionaires.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
However, a Minnesota court struck down the binary trigger ban, arguing that the legislature violated the state constitution’s single-subject clause by burying the ban inside a sprawling spending bill.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
The new, fully customizable itinerary showcases equally powerful landscapes, ranging from the sweeping dunes of Sossusvlei to the vast deserts of Damaraland to the rugged mountains and sprawling plains of Kaokoland.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025
Once confined to prison networks in Venezuela’s Aragua state, TDA has grown into a sprawling multinational criminal syndicate.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Both countries offer amazing wildlife, sprawling game parks, and beautiful beaches.
—Kent Redding, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2025
Picture pool days sprawling out on your outdoor sofa with one of these sunny pillows supporting your head or propping up a book.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 10 Sep. 2025
In May, a sprawling bamboo scaffold was built in the courtyard of Venice’s Campo della Tana, as part of a showcase exploring the diverse and often juxtaposing aspects of public space in Hong Kong, with a focus on threatened heritage.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Initially dismissed as an accident, Charles, Oliver and Mabel dive headfirst into the investigation, uncovering a sprawling conspiracy that stretches beyond the building’s walls and entangles New York’s old mob families with its newest billionaires.
—Samantha Stutsman, PEOPLE, 9 Sep. 2025
However, a Minnesota court struck down the binary trigger ban, arguing that the legislature violated the state constitution’s single-subject clause by burying the ban inside a sprawling spending bill.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 4 Sep. 2025
The new, fully customizable itinerary showcases equally powerful landscapes, ranging from the sweeping dunes of Sossusvlei to the vast deserts of Damaraland to the rugged mountains and sprawling plains of Kaokoland.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025
Once confined to prison networks in Venezuela’s Aragua state, TDA has grown into a sprawling multinational criminal syndicate.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sprawling
Verb
-
Stablecoins now connect digital assets to the machinery of government debt, influencing yields, shaping monetary policy, and extending the reach of the dollar abroad.—
Becca Bratcher,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
To bridge the gap between innovation and investment, Biofabricate is extending its reach beyond London.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The ozone layer is a thin shield of gas located 10 to 50 kilometers above Earth’s surface in the stratosphere, which is the second major layer of the atmosphere, sitting above the troposphere and extending up to 50 kilometers.—
Dianne Plummer,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
In the row behind Blanchett and Gyllenhaal was Martin Short — sitting with his Only Murders in the Building costars Steve Martin and Selena Gomez — who caught up with Jimmy Kimmel during a commercial break.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Israel accuses the commission of having a political agenda against Israel and diverging from its mandate, and declined to cooperate with it.—
Emma Farge,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
-
In this ambitious account, Wang, a technology analyst with a journalist’s eye for color, uses studies of Chinese innovation to show how the two countries’ diverging paths and pathologies can be traced to their political cultures.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Godfather director steals the show here as an energetic, pugnacious and visionary circus ringleader who put his money where his mouth was for a project that wound up flopping critically and commercially.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Domnhall Gleeson stars as the new editor-in-chief of a flopping Toledo newspaper tasked with revitalising its output.—
Lucy Ford,
Time,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Now the Icon Class family is expanding, with three equally hefty sister ships.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
-
An artisan pizzeria with South Beach roots is expanding across the state.—
Jason Dill,
Miami Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Puck reported that the staffer accused Murray of straddling her near a prop bed on set and kissing her on the mouth through the face masks that both were wearing under COVID-19 protocols.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
-
The video, which bears a watermark suggesting it was livestreamed on the video platform Kick, showed Jackson straddling Smith before repeatedly punching him in the face and the side of his head, even when Smith was lying motionless.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Lights appeared up ahead, radiating energy like celestial bodies.—
Manuel Muñoz,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Instead of sound radiating out at all angles, the sound is redirected by solid glass upwards to initially dissipate vertically instead of horizontally.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
While squatting weight in high school gym class, Welch, 18, felt his right knee become uncomfortable.—
Angelina Liu,
People.com,
22 Aug. 2025
-
Stooping is easier than squatting, and humans tend to choose the more comfortable strategy.—
Payal Dhar,
IEEE Spectrum,
10 Sep. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Sprawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sprawling. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share