as in understood
to have a clear idea of
failed to cotton on to the fact that her senatorial campaign was going nowhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cottoned (to or on to)
Verb
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Many of us have long understood that putting your country’s main creative engine inside a techno-dominant machine was probably never going to end well for creativity.
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For reasons that aren't yet fully understood, the results sometimes differ from previous events.
Verb
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Filming wrapped in May 2025, and as early as the fall of that year, the studio and Gillespie knew the movie wasn’t working.
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At that point, Bobrovsky knew his seven-season run in South Florida, one that included winning a pair of Stanley Cups, was over.
Verb
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Its successor script, Linea B, was also a mystery until it was deciphered in 1952 by an amateur linguist and cryptographer Michael Ventris with the help of classicist John Chadwick, both building on patterns in the script first identified by classicist Alice Kober.
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The signature was deciphered with the help of AI, and specialists at auction house Lyon & Turnbull were able to confirm that Cadell was the artist.
Verb
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Since the inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1966, the ABCA has recognized more than 350 individuals with induction.
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Comcast also recognized value in theme parks and invested heavily, building Universal Studios as a formidable rival to Disney.
Verb
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Moving a blade back and forth to try to saw biscuits apart will make their layers stick (and ruin the rise).
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Ruggeri says that, in comparison to saw palmetto, which gets far more attention.
Verb
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The company expects a little more of an impact in its Q2, but Cook said it’s fully comprehended in the above Street outlook of 48% to 49%.
Verb
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In second grade, Hung completed a yearlong math class in three months and grasped pre-algebra in third grade, said Choi, a longtime tutor who began teaching her son during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The drive to define the face as a data point, something to be grasped and controlled, underpins the bureaucracy of the modern nation-state, in which faces are surveyed, categorized, and stored in digital banks.
Verb
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For the Angels, that steady presence has been appreciated during a turbulent season that includes the team firing general manager Perry Minasian and replacing him with interim GM John Mozeliak, as well as another injury absence for Mike Trout.
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But even Bassitt, watching the montage of his greatest Jays moments, appreciated the memories.
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Cite this Entry
“Cottoned (to or on to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cottoned%20%28to%20or%20on%20to%29. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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