belaboring

verb

present participle of belabor
1
as in emphasizing
to speak or write about insistently and usually tiresomely stop belaboring the fact that they're already in debt

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in attacking
to criticize harshly and usually publicly there's no need to belabor other people's flaws when you're hardly perfect yourself

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in licking
to strike repeatedly with a whip he belabored a horse almost to the point of death

Synonyms & Similar 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 belaboring Blame, too, goes to the Bears, of course, whose political miscalculations have been well-documented by us and others and don’t need belaboring here. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2026 At risk of belaboring the Wallacaissaince, this is an especially fun conversation for structure nerds and systems heads. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 19 Feb. 2026 The civil trial between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has been postponed for two months, belaboring an already laborious process. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belaboring
  1. emphasizing
  2. attacking
  3. licking
  4. stressing
  5. scolding
  6. pounding
  7. slamming
  8. lashing
Verb
  • Geoff warns Ilya to moderate his projections, emphasizing the need for safeguards, but the idealistic Russian is swept up in the vast potential of AI — to solve the climate crisis, cure cancer, even save humanity from itself.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, a strappy sandal style was elevated by the sculptural wedge heel, emphasizing the comeback of the historic footwear style which has most recently gained steam as part of the ’90s and aughts fashion nostalgia wave.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of emphasizing
Verb
  • Murtis of the goddess Durga depict her astride a lion and attacking Mahishasura.
    — Tamanna Nangia, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The president appeared to be attacking Andrews, a biological woman, over her alleged support of gender transitions for minors and transgender athletes in women’s sports.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • Carter is licking his wounds after the rest of the tribe sent Ana home in a blindside.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Typically, only a low-value male resorts to this behavior, turning to foot-licking as the easiest way to ingratiate himself with women.
    — Tucker Reals, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of licking
Verb
  • Balakrishnan, however, cautioned against viewing the issue simply through the lens of who buys the oil, stressing the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation through international waterways.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Iranian nuclear enrichment has been a key issue for the White House, with the president and other top officials stressing that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon as a core objective of the war.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of stressing
Verb
  • The Amazon Prime Video broadcasters all considered the male Fever fan guilty before details of what actually happened came out, scolding him on air for his behavior.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Eventually, all charges were dropped days before trial, with Perry scolding prosecutors for violating the inherent trust placed in the office.
    — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of scolding
Verb
  • Many spectators watched pounding waves there at high tide Saturday morning.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Guadagnino has always been skilled in his choice of music (Sufjan Stevens’ alt-pop in Call Me by Your Name, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pounding EDM in Challengers).
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pounding
Verb
  • One camp of the ultra-rich cohort is actively exiting the country and slamming the tax policies as bad for business, while a whole other group is publicly demanding that they be taxed more.
    — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Prosecutors say that the driver involved in that crash allegedly ran a red light while driving under the influence, slamming into a Metro bus, killing two passengers.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of slamming
Verb
  • These are just two of the many scenes of destruction the hurricane has left in Hawaii after lashing the state’s western islands with heavy rain, widespread flooding and tropical-storm-force winds on Monday and Tuesday.
    — Liz Kreutz, NBC news, 9 Sep. 2026
  • This week’s meeting of G20 finance ministers underscored rising global trade tensions, with several countries, including the US, lashing out at China.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of lashing

Browse Nearby Words

belabored
belaboring
belabors
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Cite this Entry

“Belaboring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belaboring. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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