1
as in consolidating
to bring (something) to a central point or under a single control
centered administrative duties under the command of a single person
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in focusing
to fix (as one's attention) steadily toward a central objective
the students centered their attention on final exams
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of centering
The Flyers had Cates centering Michkov and Tyson Foerster in Game 2.
—
Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 6 May 2026
Artisan Entertainment bought the indie film and released it theatrically that June, with the story centering on three film students who disappear in the woods after setting out to shoot a documentary about the Blair Witch.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
The second was credited to Clayton Keller, who sent a centering pass in front of the Vegas net.
—Jesse Granger, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The iconic Oscar-winning director returns to his sci-fi roots with this thriller centering on a Kansas City meteorologist (Emily Blunt), a young whistleblower (Josh O'Connor) and a secret that's been covered up for decades and could change everything for everyone.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Caufield took Nick Suzuki’s centering pass in the slot and redirected the puck in.
—ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026
Byfield heaved a backhanded centering pass to the rear post for a redirection by Moore, the Kings’ first goal of the playoffs from someone other than Panarin.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
These were interwoven with chapters set in the present-tense and centering Cleo, the descendent of these immigrants and, like me, a half-white, half-Chinese millennial.
—Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
For fans, jumping to the addition of 12 teams within a year of moving from a four-team playoff seemed like too big of a move in such a short time, with one argument centering on the idea there are not 24 teams talented enough to win a national title.
—Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Tom Dougherty, CBS News, 6 May 2026
Artisan Entertainment bought the indie film and released it theatrically that June, with the story centering on three film students who disappear in the woods after setting out to shoot a documentary about the Blair Witch.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
The second was credited to Clayton Keller, who sent a centering pass in front of the Vegas net.
—Jesse Granger, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The iconic Oscar-winning director returns to his sci-fi roots with this thriller centering on a Kansas City meteorologist (Emily Blunt), a young whistleblower (Josh O'Connor) and a secret that's been covered up for decades and could change everything for everyone.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
Caufield took Nick Suzuki’s centering pass in the slot and redirected the puck in.
—ABC News, 26 Apr. 2026
Byfield heaved a backhanded centering pass to the rear post for a redirection by Moore, the Kings’ first goal of the playoffs from someone other than Panarin.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
These were interwoven with chapters set in the present-tense and centering Cleo, the descendent of these immigrants and, like me, a half-white, half-Chinese millennial.
—Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026
For fans, jumping to the addition of 12 teams within a year of moving from a four-team playoff seemed like too big of a move in such a short time, with one argument centering on the idea there are not 24 teams talented enough to win a national title.
—Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for centering
Verb
-
Cost-containment measures, like consolidating software licenses and reusing expensive sets rather than continually tearing them down, were put in place.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
6 May 2026
-
The program is meant to optimize the transit network by consolidating duplicative routes and increasing service and frequency on corridors with high ridership.—
Joshua Ceballos,
Miami Herald,
5 May 2026
Verb
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Researchers are focusing on the volcanoes of the Eastern Caribbean, which erupt relatively frequently and can quickly transition from effusive-style, lava-heavy eruptions to sudden, catastrophic, explosive ones.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 May 2026
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And the various industries are taking notice, focusing on reformulating and repackaging their products to keep up with what one industry observer calls a seismic shift.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Packing involves concentrating like-minded voters into fewer districts, or into a single district, to minimize their overall impact across multiple districts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
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As a pair of smart glasses aimed at hard-of-hearing users, the Captify Pro delivers a focused and functional experience by concentrating almost entirely on live captioning and translation.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The deployment marks one of the service’s latest steps toward integrating unmanned systems into everyday missions.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
7 May 2026
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The trick is integrating them during the remodel, rather than bolting them on after a fall.—
Amy Kunst,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Leaders of the city’s political left credited Patel with uniting community groups and labor unions by fostering deep personal relationships.—
Jake Sheridan,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Apr. 2026
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The University of Massachusetts poll, fielded among 1,000 Americans, found 74% believe there are more things uniting them than dividing them.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018, and five years later started xAI as a competitor, before merging that business with SpaceX in February.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
2 May 2026
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Not everything is wireless, though, which is where Sonos is merging the traditional with the cutting edge.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The research highlights how combining quantum processors with classical computing resources may define the next phase of high-performance computing, offering a path toward solving problems that are currently out of reach.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
6 May 2026
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Donovan Mitchell and James Harden struggled for Cleveland, combining to shoot only 44% from the field and turn the ball over 10 times.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Centering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/centering. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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