APPLYING Synonyms: 142 Similar and Opposite Words

applying

verb

present participle of apply

as in relating

to have a relation or connection does your rule about calling home apply to me as well?

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Relevance

as in devoting

to occupy (oneself) diligently or with close attention Sam applied himself to writing thank-you letters to everyone who'd helped sponsor him for the charity walk

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in spreading

to put a layer of on a surface apply the ointment liberally

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as in using

to put into action or service apply the laws of motion to this physics problem

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as in exerting

to bring to bear especially forcefully or effectively apply pressure to the area to stop the bleeding

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as in enforcing

to carry out effectively a police officer applying the law

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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 applying The team is currently applying this approach to devices installed across wall panels or doors to harvest ambient temperature differences. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026 British police acknowledged applying for the warrants under the wrong statutory provision, the judge said while stipulating that the misconduct investigation against the king's brother could continue. — Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026 Bookkeeping is foundational to many financial tasks, from filing taxes to applying for a business loan. — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026 Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the next major deadline for Texas voters is applying to vote by mail for those who are eligible. — Digital Producer, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026 While morals clauses are common in sports, Herz argued applying them to teenage posts stretches the rule past common sense. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2026 Guadagnino’s film comes at a time when Hollywood is applying much greater scruitiny to Silicon Valley’s tech titans. — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026 The State Russian Museum revealed that the museum’s specialists repaired areas of peeling, applying primer and paint across the entire surface of the canvas and completed the restoration with a varnish coating. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Turovsky previously spent more than a decade at Google applying AI to some of its core products, including Search and Ads. — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for applying

Verb

The incentive would allow a 35% to 50% credit on qualified expenses relating specifically to post-production in California.

— Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Relationship science draws a useful line here between two ways of relating.

— Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of relating

Verb

The series tries to link all these women together into a tapestry of feminist frustration by devoting a few minutes at the beginning of each episode to an unnamed narrator telling different tales of misunderstood women throughout history.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
It’s been long rumored that Bundchen filed for the D word because she was fed up with Brady devoting himself to his career.

— Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of devoting

Verb

The arrests deepen concerns about press freedom in Egypt, where authorities have repeatedly accused journalists and government critics of Brotherhood ties or spreading false news.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Instead of spreading yarn spinning, knitting, and dyeing across different locations, the Guatemalan plant brings the entire process together in one place.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of spreading

Verb

And with the National Cancer Institute preparing a major randomized trial of multicancer screening tests using cancer death as the endpoint, the agency should also consider whether approving Grail’s test will impede that work.

— H. Gilbert Welch, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026
The short treatment menu includes facials and massages, using Tribe517 products.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of using

Verb

With broader crypto legislation stalling in Congress, regulators are exerting their existing powers to address individual parts of the market, said Jeff Ko, chief analyst at blockchain infrastructure service provider ViaBTC.

— Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
Trump successfully exerting political control over the Fed would be extremely bad news for just about everyone.

— Cameron Peters, Vox, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of exerting

Verb

Horvath cited recent Los Angeles Times reporting on the challenges victims face when obtaining and enforcing restraining orders as an inspiration for the Board of Supervisors motion, which was co-authored by board chair Hilda Solis.

— Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
The preliminary injunction blocks the government from enforcing the regulation against the affected class of immigrants while the case proceeds.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of enforcing

Verb

Anyone with any relevant information pertaining to the incident is asked to contact the Bloomfield Police Department.

— Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
In the days leading to Ed Sheeran’s Atlanta concert, his second since the Big Controversy, questions about everything but his music prevailed over those pertaining to it.

— DeAsia Paige, AJC.com, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of pertaining

Verb

There, local fishermen demonstrated their sustainable crayfish harvesting process, and as a spectacular touch, the helicopter lifted one of the crayfish tanks straight out of the ocean, giving our client a dramatic view of the abundant catch.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
The other group is a little more spread out, giving more opportunity.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026