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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cottoning (to or on to)
Verb
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At last weekend’s general assembly of Barcelona club members, Laporta tried to thread a delicate path when defending the plan to play a domestic game over 4,500 miles away, knowing that Tebas is not exactly popular with his team’s supporters.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025 -
Her mother, a pediatric critical care nurse, was working her shift at Hennepin County Medical Center, where several of the wounded were taken, before even knowing her children’s school was involved.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The emerging discipline of geomythology is coming into its own, as scientists, historians, and other scholars see the rich potential for understanding how humans have made sense of their observations of nature over time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
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Experts say there are biological and seasonal reasons behind the fall-time sleep disruption, and understanding them can help teens get better rest.—
Kris Ann Valdez,
Parents,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Though historians have called for further research before making claims, the proposal of a script rooted in sign language might open the chance to explore a new way of deciphering Mayan art and show the ancient civilization to be even more sophisticated and efficient than scholars even knew.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Sep. 2025
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Now, a team of international astronomers has succeeded in deciphering the gravitational wave signal, GW190412, to determine more about the collision and the resulting event that sent an infant black hole hurtling through space.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Spike Lee will receive the Career Achievement Award, recognizing his four-decade legacy as one of the most influential filmmakers of his generation, with a body of work that includes Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and Da 5 Bloods.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
22 Oct. 2025
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Investors should be heartened by the optimism from these financial executives, while recognizing more discernment is needed before taking any sort of action at the stock level.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In his eight wins, all eight have come inside the distance, with only two fights seeing a second round.—
Brett Appley,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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Looking forward to seeing Becks on our plane ride home.—
Lydia Mee,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Heavener said her young students have a hard time comprehending what is going on.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Oct. 2025
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According to the Migration Policy Institute, more than 230,000 Coloradans have difficulty comprehending and communicating in English.—
Micki Olson,
The Conversation,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The father, Fyodor Karamazov, is a grasping, lecherous, deceitful, and shameless widower.—
Karl Ove Knausgaard,
New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2025
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Furthermore, these grasping abilities would have also helped climb.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Our expert, Tom Gideon, gave them a great review, appreciating their comfortable fit and bright sound.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
9 Oct. 2025
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Everybody’s appreciating it for its filmic quality.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
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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 26 Oct. 2025.
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