APPLY (ONESELF) Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

apply (oneself)

verb

Definition of apply (oneself)

as in to buckle (down)

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for apply (oneself)

Verb

Alcantara occasionally pitching in save situations between starts was an idea broached by the Marlins staff just a few weeks ago.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
The British broadcaster on Thursday launched a competitive tender for Season 16, in which producers will pitch in a bake-off-style process to refresh the iconic sci-fi series.

— Jake Kanter, Deadline, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of pitch in

Verb

On an archaeological dig in Sulawesi, an island in modern-day Indonesia, Brumm and his colleagues excavated some very old human remains.

— Pien Huang, NPR, 19 Sep. 2026
Know More Republican leaders are preparing for Democratic opponents of the college sports bill to dig in, dragging out the rest of the schedule.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of dig in

Verb

Magadan had a deadly reputation in the Stalin era, as a hub for Gulag mines where political prisoners slaved sometimes to death and produced gold and other minerals in the process.

— Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Po’s journey begins while slaving away at his boring noodle job on the day the Dragon Warrior is to be chosen.

— Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025

Definition of slave

Verb

But for Spring/Summer 2027, the dust has largely settled, as many from this fresh cohort knuckle down and develop their second or third collections.

— Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026
Teams will use the five-week gap between the races in Japan and Miami to knuckle down at their factories and develop car upgrades that could boost their fortunes upon returning to the track in May.

— Luke Smith, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of knuckle down

Verb

McNeely’s portrait of a laboring mother, swathed in glowing fields of chartreuse, outshines (again, literally) art history’s greats.

— Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
In line with the great tech selloff over AI spending fears, Capgemini’s share price has been laboring.

— Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of labor

Verb

To heat-style, blow-dry curtain bangs away from the face, sweeping them from side to side with a paddle brush.

— Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 9 June 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.

— Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025

Definition of bang away

Verb

Last year, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office struggled with contractor Tyler Technologies to get money from county coffers out to districts.

— A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
But the Hurricanes struggled in the second half, and Wake Forest nearly got back into the game.

— Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of struggle

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.

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applying (to)

apply (oneself)

apply (to)

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“Apply (oneself).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apply%20%28oneself%29. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of apply (oneself)

verb

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