1
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention
the demanding assignment kept them working all night long
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in exacting
hard to please
will play before a demanding audience of music critics, who are not easily impressed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in difficult
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
the demanding task of reading and grading student compositions
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in requiring
to ask for (something) earnestly or with authority
the losing party demanded a recount of the votes cast in the election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in needing
to have as a requirement
a task that demands one's unremitting attention
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in asking
to set or receive as a price
superstars of the big screen who demand millions for appearing in a movie
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of demanding
News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
And there are incidental pleasures like Patton Oswalt as the voice of Freddy’s anthropomorphized backpack Strappy or Clint Howard and Michael Shannon as a grizzled cowboy and his demanding ventriloquist dummy.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
Busy Philipps Philipps in a Saturday Instagram post reshared statements demanding justice for Pretti as well as the defunding of ICE.
—Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demanding
Adjective
Barrel racing and pole bending are among rodeo’s most demanding events, requiring precision, speed and advanced horsemanship.
—News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
And there are incidental pleasures like Patton Oswalt as the voice of Freddy’s anthropomorphized backpack Strappy or Clint Howard and Michael Shannon as a grizzled cowboy and his demanding ventriloquist dummy.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
These are foods that feel indulgent without demanding perfection.
—Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
Busy Philipps Philipps in a Saturday Instagram post reshared statements demanding justice for Pretti as well as the defunding of ICE.
—Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demanding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for demanding
Adjective
-
If some species can continue reproducing even under challenging conditions, that resilience could buy ecosystems valuable time.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Much of Shrinking revolves around people going through challenging times and healing through finding love, such as Paul (Harrison Ford) beginning a relationship with his doctor.—
Skyler Trepel,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Here, too, legislators must be far more exacting.—
Kevin Frazier,
Sun Sentinel,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Touching on his reputation as an exacting, demanding, sometimes even difficult director to work with, Cameron offered rare comments about a joke made at an awards show that still stings over a decade later.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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This requires the difficult task of collecting precise, real-world measurements of complex nuclei and comparing the measurements with the models’ predictions.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Feb. 2026
-
While that process may prove difficult, the suspension option was hardly better.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The documents were disclosed as mandated by a law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Maxwell.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Feb. 2026
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Sandra Hernández, president of the California Health Care Foundation, said the federal legislation creates administrative hurdles, requiring Medicaid beneficiaries to meet new work or income requirements and to undergo the eligibility re-determination process every six months instead of annually.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Palestinians react to recovery of last hostage’s remains Palestinians in Gaza were optimistic that opening the Rafah crossing will allow travel to and from the enclave along with the evacuation of people needing medical care.—
Julia Frankel,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
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Other large departments such as the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Health Care Services reported needing more than 1,100 workstations — for roughly one quarter of the total number of employees in each department — to bring workers back to offices four days a week.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This lets users keep their main work open while asking Gemini to summarize content, compare products, or organize information from multiple sites at the same time.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
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In 2013, David Kidd and Emanuele Castano shifted the research goal posts by asking if reading literary fiction (as opposed to non-fiction, popular fiction, or no reading) correlated with higher scores on what’s known as theory of mind.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Leeds are right on the limit of their profitability and sustainability (PSR) projections, but with some careful rebalancing of the finances, this could be a swing worth taking.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Going through a severe injury is probably the toughest thing an athlete can go through.—
DJ Siddiqi,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
More companies are dialing back flexible work schedules and mandating that employees return to the office part-time or full-time, forcing women into tough situations.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Demanding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/demanding. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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