Synonyms of approaching

approaching 1 of 2

adjective

as in upcoming

being soon to appear or take place

the approaching holiday has everyone in a state of excitement

Synonyms & Similar Words

• upcoming
• coming
• impending
• nearing
• to come
• imminent
• oncoming
• forthcoming
• at hand
• on hand
• future
• proximate
• pending
• on tap
• anticipated
• predicted
• awaited
• expected
• foreseen

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recent
• late
• past
• other
• sometime
• old
• former
• foregone
• bygone
• erstwhile
• onetime
• whilom
• quondam

approaching

2 of 2

verb

present participle of approach

1

as in coming

to come near or nearer

the parade's approaching! I can hear the band playing!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• coming
• closing
• nearing
• arriving
• reaching
• drawing on
• coming up
• closing in
• attaining
• hitting
• landing
• nighing
• bellying up
• gaining
• making
• bordering
• verging
• showing up
• turning up
• touching
• adjoining
• creeping up
• waltzing (up)
• sneaking up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• retreating
• withdrawing
• receding
• retiring
• backing (up or away)
• leaving
• going
• exiting
• removing
• departing
• quitting
• running away
• pulling out
• walking out
• taking off
• shoving (off)
• clearing out
• lighting out

2

as in nearing

to move closer to

approach the bull with caution

Synonyms & Similar Words

• coming
• nearing
• entering
• advancing
• nighing
• dropping in
• popping (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• going
• withdrawing
• retreating
• leaving
• departing
• receding (from)
• exiting

3

as in approximating

to come near or nearer to in character or quality

his store-bought dessert doesn't even approach your homemade version of it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• approximating
• reflecting
• comparing (with)
• matching
• measuring up (to)
• stacking up (against or with)
• mirroring
• paralleling
• holding a candle to
• amounting (to)
• coming (to)
• adding up (to)
• duplicating
• equaling
• touching (on)
• bordering (on)
• verging (on)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of approaching

Adjective

Best Amazon Dress Sales Under $50 Fall is fast approaching, and while sundress season is technically over, these dresses will carry you over into the cooler months. — Paige Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2026

August 29, the fictional date (in 1997) of the franchise’s original nuclear holocaust, is fast approaching, and Judgment Day is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. — ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026

Not only is retirement looming at some not-too-distant time, but the college drop-off is fast approaching. — Ken Stern, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

The time for my wife and me to say goodbye was fast approaching. — John Biemer, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026

Fall is fast approaching, but the Red Sox look like their spring selves again in the worst way. — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 12 Aug. 2026

While the deadline is fast approaching, Montour keeps working away. — Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

The Minnesota State Fair is fast approaching, and this year there will be several new attractions, vendors and rides. — Aki Nace, CBS News, 30 July 2026

The point is, the way Social Security is currently set up, the day of reckoning is fast approaching. — Bydoug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 July 2026

Verb

With long-term Treasury yields surging, mortgage rates are approaching levels that could further erode affordability. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

Concerns about affordability have taken a leading role in the fast-approaching midterm elections. — Christopher Rugaber, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

With the 30-year anniversary approaching in a couple of years, has there been any movement toward some kind of revival or continuation of Felicity? — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026

The defense argued that few defendants prosecuted in the nursing-school cases had voluntarily surrendered anything approaching that amount and that Singhal should consider the payment in deciding how much prison time to impose. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026

That coalition does not need to decide whether a model is approaching recursive self-improvement. — Shlomit Wagman, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026

Rather than approaching the album as a collection of individual songs, Paloma built The Fatal Flaw around a central concept, allowing the tracks to exist as pieces of a larger world. — Jason Phillips, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026

Recently, residents have watched individuals establish themselves on the public medians of Auchentoroly Terrace and Gwynns Falls Parkway, approaching motorists for money throughout the day. — Lawrence Bell, Baltimore Sun, 15 Sep. 2026

Their goal is radical life extension and, ultimately, something approaching immortality. — Venki Ramakrishnan, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026