Synonyms of dragging

dragging 1 of 2

adjective

as in leisurely

moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed

a mysterious, cloaked figure with a strange, dragging walk

Synonyms & Similar Words

• leisurely
• slow
• crawling
• creeping
• lagging
• poking
• slowing
• dilatory
• sluggish
• dallying
• laggard
• dillydallying
• poky
• tardy
• dawdling
• unhurried
• snaillike
• languid
• snail-paced
• lingering
• lethargic
• lounging
• ambling
• deliberate
• shuffling
• loitering
• plodding
• loafing
• inert
• inactive
• measured
• strolling
• decelerating
• stalling
• inching
• procrastinating
• tarrying
• heavy-footed
• slow-footed
• filibustering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rushing
• running
• rapid
• flying
• swift
• lightning
• speedy
• racing
• quick
• speeding
• hasty
• breathless
• fast
• rocketing
• bolting
• brisk
• ready
• dizzy
• fleet
• whirlwind
• prompt
• meteoric
• snappy
• hurrying
• expeditious
• whirling
• zipping
• scooting
• scurrying
• scudding
• barreling
• careering
• accelerated
• whisking
• breakneck
• rushed
• warp-speed
• hastened
• hurried
• quickened

dragging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of drag

1

as in pulling

to cause to follow by applying steady force on

the deliveryman dragged the barrels over against the wall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pulling
• hauling
• tugging
• towing
• lugging
• drawing
• carrying
• heaving
• attracting
• haling
• yanking
• moving
• jerking
• transporting
• conveying
• ferrying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pushing
• driving
• propelling
• shoving
• thrusting

2

as in delaying

to move or act slowly

one of the climbers was beginning to drag

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delaying
• lingering
• crawling
• poking
• strolling
• creeping
• shuffling
• lagging
• playing
• dawdling
• loitering
• stalling
• moping
• falling behind
• diddling
• dropping behind
• hanging fire
• lollygagging
• marking time
• lounging
• tarrying
• dallying
• dillydallying
• staggering
• dragging one's feet
• idling
• taking one's time
• sauntering
• shilly-shallying
• ambling
• inching
• loafing
• fooling around
• fiddling (around)
• trifling
• puttering (around)
• hanging (around or out)
• lolling
• pottering (around)
• decelerating
• messing around
• plodding
• easing
• monkeying (around)
• lumbering
• procrastinating
• slowing (down or up)
• temporizing
• filibustering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• tearing
• flying
• running
• ripping
• rushing
• hurrying
• speeding
• racing
• scurrying
• whirling
• hastening
• dashing
• zipping
• whizzing
• scooting
• bolting
• whisking
• coursing
• scudding
• careering
• rocketing
• barreling
• scrambling
• darting
• hurtling
• humping
• running
• stampeding
• hustling
• trotting
• bowling
• galloping
• breezing
• sprinting
• accelerating
• jogging
• quickening
• hotfooting (it)
• speeding (up)
• overtaking
• outrunning
• outpacing
• outstripping
• catching up
• fast-forwarding

3

as in crawling

to move slowly

the play dragged and seemed to take forever to get to its predictable conclusion

Synonyms & Similar Words

• crawling
• creeping
• shuffling
• poking
• inching
• limping
• slouching
• oozing
• creaking (along)
• snailing
• plodding
• nosing
• trudging
• shambling
• tramping
• lumbering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flying
• speeding
• racing
• floating
• gliding
• sailing
• whizzing
• zipping
• tearing
• hurrying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dragging

Verb

On Tuesday, the roller-coaster ride for AI stocks whipped back down, dragging Wall Street lower. — ABC News, 8 July 2026

With the process dragging on for months, the split of drama and comedy into separate departments, with Smith as head of the former, emerged as a likely scenario by mid-May. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 8 July 2026

Discerning exactly how the lunar and solar tides influenced the orbit of LARES-2 was crucial for the best-yet frame-dragging measurement. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 8 July 2026

Plus, this set comes in petite, tall, and regular sizes, so there’s no dragging your wide-leg pants on the airport floors. — Morgan Sullivan, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2026

But the owners were dragging their feet, which afforded David time to browse listings for homes for sale in the country, amid cornfields, red barns and silos. — Dawn M. Turner, Chicago Tribune, 5 July 2026

Real Madrid attacker Brahim Díaz went into the right side of the box, dragging two defenders with him before laying the ball back to Ounahi to clinically score his brace. — Patrick Sung Cuadrado, CNN Money, 4 July 2026

In late May, a video spread across Albanian social media of private security guards dragging a protester across the beach at the wetlands. — Max Grinstein, The Washington Examiner, 3 July 2026

Ronaldo’s presence clearly does still have an effect, with his run towards the ball dragging DR Congo’s defence with him, which made space for Nuno Mendes to run in behind. — Mark Carey, New York Times, 2 July 2026