carrying on

verb

Definition of carrying onnext
present participle of carry on
1
as in acting out
to behave badly a toddler crying and carrying on in the store

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in persisting
to continue despite difficulties, opposition, or discouragement she bravely carried on despite the loss of her husband

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in operating
to look after and make decisions about carries on a business and still manages to run the household

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 carrying on There’s been a lot of talk about carrying on her work, especially during these times when people feel like some of it has been eroded. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 7 Oct. 2026 In the tangled greenery of a Ugandan national park, mountain gorillas sit among the leaves, calmly carrying on as tourists trek into their forest home. — ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026 The acquisition also puts Lewis in the somewhat unusual position of carrying on the businesses of two veteran New York printmakers who helped shape his career. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 17 Sep. 2026 The two sides are carrying on with development of multiple projects, with one of them said to be nearing a series order. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026 The band is dedicated to carrying on the spirit of a live Rush concert. — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026 Heitz Cellar’s current winemaker Brittany Sherwood is carrying on the tradition of stunning selections by using only organic and biodynamic Napa Valley grapes. — Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2026 What began as a single title has since grown into more than 400 books and counting, with Mike Berenstain now carrying on the family legacy. — Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Established in 2022 with the support of Prine’s family and Oh Boy Records, the award celebrates the legacy of the late songwriter as seen through a living talent carrying on his work. — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 24 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carrying on
  1. acting out
  2. persisting
  3. operating
  4. disobeying
  5. managing
  6. acting up
  7. supervising
  8. overseeing
Verb
  • If Graham fails in her bid, she can be forgiven for acting out of loyalty and love for her brother.
    — Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The diagnosis came after the actor learned that his own behavior of acting out dreams could be an early Parkinson's symptom.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of acting out
Verb
  • With security concerns persisting ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix in November and the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December, F1 has considered a fallback option in Europe, with Italy’s Imola circuit as the favorite.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026
  • One place where the one-hander is persisting is at the recreational level, where players search for consistency and where elite levels of power and precision are secondary to fun, comfort and longevity.
    — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of persisting
Verb
  • As a major bloc that has been able to apply pressure, the union has thwarted several efforts by Mamdani’s predecessors to ban the attraction, as hundreds of carriage operators make a living operating the buggies.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Industry participants observed a live demonstration of LGMG’s electric mining trucks operating alongside intelligent fleet dispatch, solar generation, energy storage, and ultra-fast charging infrastructure.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of operating
Verb
  • Cops had issued summonses to the driver twice before, once in 2024 for failing to yield to a pedestrian and in 2018 for disobeying a traffic device, officials said.
    — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The violations are disobeying orders and conduct unbecoming an officer.
    — Charlie D'Agata, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of disobeying
Verb
  • Positioning the commercial arm of the 100-year-old BBC for a streaming future while managing the traditional linear channels that still do great business in many international territories.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Years later, there’s still work to be done managing a film’s intellectual property rights and corporate vehicles.
    — Kim Jackson, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of managing
Verb
  • But sleep was hard to come by, with her daughter’s asthma acting up and the anxiety of the hearing the following day.
    — Syra Ortiz Blanes, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Baye continued acting up until 2023.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 18 Apr. 2026
Definition of acting up
Verb
  • The surge in profits has been driven by robust trading in stocks, bonds and currencies, fees from supervising and advising clients’ investments, underwriting initial public offerings and a pickup in mergers and acquisitions.
    — John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
  • To that end, Gershin added more backgrounds and foley, adding detail and supervising a pass in Dolby Atmos, all along being careful not to betray the intentions of the original work.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of supervising
Verb
  • Quiroz asserts Mission Lotería — the name is a nod to a Mexican card game — would not have opened had the team not pitched their vision to a panel overseeing the city’s storefront opportunity grants.
    — Terry Tang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The people overseeing the remaining assets also want to sell employee data to Google to train artificial intelligence.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of overseeing

Browse Nearby Words

carrying off
carrying on
carrying out
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Cite this Entry

“Carrying on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carrying%20on. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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