BEARS (DOWN ON) Synonyms: 64 Similar and Opposite Words

bears (down on) 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of bear (down on)

as in shoves

to push steadily against with some force you need to bear down on that cap a bit to get it to latch tightly

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bears down on

2 of 2

phrase

present tense third-person singular of bear down on

as in highlights

to indicate the importance of by centering attention on Our manager bore down on the need to meet upcoming deadlines.

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for bears (down on)

Verb

Instead, Iñárritu shoves in a limp subplot about a missing daughter to humanize him.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Taege shoves Maulson, who is handcuffed, and Maulson falls to the pavement, hitting his head.

— Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of shoves

Verb

Zelensky said Trump approved licenses for Ukraine to produce Patriot air defense systems, while Kyiv presses Washington to impose sanctions already signed into law.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
The betrayal Murray inflicts on Tremblay’s Kaczynski is compelling, even as the film presses it into service as an explanation for every horror that followed.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of presses

Verb

Deal teams that prepare before a potential transaction (something my company has created a checklist for) can gain an advantage as technology compresses timelines.

— Rusty Wiley, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Much like an engine compresses fuel before ignition, FLARE first assembles the fuel to high density before delivering a separate, rapid burst of energy to trigger fusion.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of compresses

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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bears (down)

bears (down on)

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“Bears (down on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bears%20%28down%20on%29. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of bears (down on)

verb

phrase

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