DRAGGING Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dragging

2 of 2

verb

present participle of drag

as in pulling

to cause to follow by applying steady force on the deliveryman dragged the barrels over against the wall

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as in delaying

to move or act slowly one of the climbers was beginning to drag

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as in crawling

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

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of dragging

Verb

Count seats against your guest list, then throw down floor cushions or a blanket pile instead of dragging in extra chairs. — Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026 Plus, because most wide-legs have longer inseams, a low heel prevents them from dragging on the ground. — Eva Thomas, InStyle, 17 Oct. 2026 Semiconductors — Chipmakers fell on Thursday, dragging the tech sector lower on the day. — Ananya Chetia,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026 He’s also been known to engage with those who might not be fans of his comedic stylings, publicly arguing back and forth with civilians, dragging them on his social media for his fans to see. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026 Beaches typically go through a seasonal cycle with powerful winter waves dragging sand out to sea and more mild summer waves depositing the sand back onshore. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 Metal barricades choked the streets as police moved against young demonstrators, beating some, dragging others into buses and chasing away the rest. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 The play, like a sturdy classic that Sheldon might love, runs over two hours with an intermission, not without dragging. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026 But an owners representative claims that part of the problem was Erica and Peter dragging their feet on providing backup documents for their application package. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dragging

Adjective

But in order to make the most of the experiment, scientists ensured a second spacecraft would follow DART at a more leisurely pace.

— Meghan Bartels, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026
If a leisurely day by the pool is on the agenda, order chips and guac or sip a Valley Margarita from the comfort of your chaise lounge.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of leisurely

Verb

Safe haven demand temporarily outweighed inflation fears, prompting capital to exit risk assets and flow into the Treasury market, thereby pulling yields lower.

— , CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Through July, O’Hare held a cash advantage of $707,000 to Simmons’s $67,000, with his campaign pulling $135,000 from oil and gas companies alone.

— Rachel Royster. Produced with AI assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulling

Verb

The daughter, Shannon Amos, faults her brother, Kelly Christopher Amos, for delaying medical care while isolating the actor from his family and friends in the years leading up to his death.

— Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
More and more parents are delaying vaccines and citing logistics, outsourcing the decision to the parent who isn’t in the room or simply wanting more time.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of delaying

Verb

Prior to then, traffic was seen crawling on the eastbound side of the bridge heading into the city.

— Jeff Capellini, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
At the hospital, an insect fell from the girl’s shoe, and a staffer saw a cockroach crawling on her, the district attorney’s office said.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of crawling

Verb

To protect the boardwalk and the homes there, the city has been hauling sand from the west end of the beach to the east to create a buffer between the ocean and the shore.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
For now, Starship's most immediate role is hauling Starlink satellites in orbit.

— Andrew Jones, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of hauling

Verb

Abruptly moving on, like a magician preventing his audience from lingering on his last trick, Alex pulled out a tablet, holding it up to me.

— Andrew Lipstein, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2026
Also on the ground floor is Maven, serving strong espresso and nitro cold brew—plus coffee cocktails worth lingering for.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of lingering

Verb

Gusts of more than 60 mph are possible in parts of the Outer Banks with 40 to 50 mph gusts creeping toward the Interstate 95 corridor in North Carolina and southern Virginia.

— Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Graduate unemployment is at 23 percent, white-collar job growth has slowed to a creeping one percent this year, and nearly a quarter of Indians between the ages of 15 and 29 are not in employment, education, or training programs.

— Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026