as in knowing
to have a clear idea of
failed to cotton on to the fact that her senatorial campaign was going nowhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cottoning (to or on to)
Verb
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His aerial strength and positional awareness allow SDFC’s midfield to step higher, knowing the back line remains stable.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026 -
Pat, not knowing about her relationship with Lockjaw, takes to being a father, but Perfidia pulls away, choosing to continue her work as a revolutionary in lieu of settling down.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This phase diagram, a chart showing how a material behaves as variables such as doping or temperature change, is crucial for understanding how superconductivity emerges.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Mar. 2026
-
However, empowerment also means understanding how scammers operate in the real world.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When your speech is clear and reliable, no fog, no spin, no quiet evasions, people stop wasting energy deciphering you and start collaborating with you.—
Adam Dietz,
Big Think,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Pitch tipping — the art of deciphering what might be coming based on small tells a pitcher might have — is a legal and common practice.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Spataro said the key insight behind Agent 365 came from recognizing that the same management infrastructure used for human employees—tools like Entra, Defender, Purview, and Intune—could be extended to manage AI agents as well.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
9 Mar. 2026
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Children begin recognizing things like kindness, persistence or generosity as reasons to feel proud.—
Reem Raouda,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Offensively, the Cowboys were clearly comfortable seeing TCU’s style of defense for a third time.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Phillips also played a complete season in 2025 after seeing two separate significant injuries end his seasons in 2023 (Achilles) and 2024 (ACL).—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As for whether comprehending the wiring of the brain really demands techniques from the frontiers of theoretical physics, questions remain.—
Lee Billings,
Scientific American,
13 Jan. 2026
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And only by comprehending the Star Eaters will Ro also comprehend his part in their potential destruction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Eventually, the fighting commenced with a flurry of slapping, pushing, and grasping; sumo can look like brawling or ballet, a display of brute force or a mastery of martial-arts techniques that share their origins with judo and aikido.—
Joshua Hunt,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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These protagonists were classic show-business aspirants who, having come to Los Angeles to be within grasping distance of their dreams, fell, in the interim, into service work.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Belatedly recognizing and appreciating the achievements of professional women’s football players is the least modern sports fans can do.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Celebrate our 250th anniversary by reading history books, watching historical documentaries, becoming more civically engaged, and appreciating the precious gifts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
11 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Cottoning (to or on to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cottoning%20%28to%20or%20on%20to%29. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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