1
as in pulls
to cause to follow by applying steady force on
the deliveryman dragged the barrels over against the wall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lingers
to move or act slowly
one of the climbers was beginning to drag
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in crawls
to move slowly
the play dragged and seemed to take forever to get to its predictable conclusion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in bores
someone or something boring
that lecture was such a drag that half of the audience fell asleep
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in streets
a passage cleared for public vehicular travel
the main drag in town
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in obstacles
something that makes movement or progress difficult
the drag of stagnating wages on bringing the economy out of the recession
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
5
as in crabs
a person who spoils the pleasure of others
the teenager was mortified to be seen in public with such drags—her parents
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 drags
Dennis Lin, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
The North Carolina General Assembly returned Tuesday for the first time since last month, as a budget stalemate between the House and Senate drags on.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2025
But as the contest drags on, his resolve starts to crumble.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 27 Aug. 2025
But the extended Peter Pan metaphor drags the whole thing down.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
While driving away from the heist, Ray spots a location that drags him into a black-and-white flashback.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
While markets focused on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, minutes from the central bank’s last meeting revealed concern among some policymakers about the housing market, which has been raising alarms on Wall Street as a slowdown drags on.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025
Disneyland does have a specific dress code of additional clothing items to avoid, like anything with obscene language or graphics, or clothing that drags on the ground which could be a trip hazard.
—Jacqueline Weiss, StyleCaster, 20 Aug. 2025
In Michelangelo’s Last Judgment a devil drags one of the damned to hell by his testicles (which sounds like heaven to me).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Verb
Maybe his rehabilitation drags.
—Dennis Lin, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
The North Carolina General Assembly returned Tuesday for the first time since last month, as a budget stalemate between the House and Senate drags on.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2025
But as the contest drags on, his resolve starts to crumble.
—J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 27 Aug. 2025
But the extended Peter Pan metaphor drags the whole thing down.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
While driving away from the heist, Ray spots a location that drags him into a black-and-white flashback.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
While markets focused on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, minutes from the central bank’s last meeting revealed concern among some policymakers about the housing market, which has been raising alarms on Wall Street as a slowdown drags on.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025
Disneyland does have a specific dress code of additional clothing items to avoid, like anything with obscene language or graphics, or clothing that drags on the ground which could be a trip hazard.
—Jacqueline Weiss, StyleCaster, 20 Aug. 2025
In Michelangelo’s Last Judgment a devil drags one of the damned to hell by his testicles (which sounds like heaven to me).
—Michael Robbins, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
Poor governance, misguided acquisitions, or self-serving buybacks are structural drags.
—Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drags
Verb
-
Excellence is like a magnet that pulls great leaders to their futures.—
Chip Bell,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Via visual gags, a cast of gifted comic actors and a script that pulls both from ’80s and ’90s TV movies and screen classics like Suddenly, Last Summer and The Children’s Hour, Maddie’s Secret straddles the line between comedy and melodrama, creating a wholly unique cinematic experience.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Finally, a dash of cranberry bitters snaps everything into focus, leaving a tart, ruby-toned finish that lingers just long enough to invite another sip.—
Aly Walansky,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Yet Harris lingers near the top of the 2028 Democratic presidential contenders in most polling because the party lacks viable alternatives with comparable name identification.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the footage, the dog hilariously crawls under the blanket, which had slipped down the side of his crate, and ends up pulling it completely off.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Dead Bug Ab-cross crawls support overall ab strength.—
Health Editorial Team,
Health,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Anyone who thinks English Heritage sites are run by bores is in for a surprise.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The researchers plan to expand their study to a larger number of boreholes, including water bores, to understand the full scope of the issue better nd find more opportunities to reduce emissions.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Just this morning, DHS took violent offenders off the streets with arrests for assault, DUI, and felony stalking.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
What’s most inspiring about these showings of texture on the streets of New York fashion week is that more times than not, Black women are not widely embraced in all of their glory to live in their textures during these occasions.—
Essence,
Essence,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In its latest publication, the lobby representing over 1,600 member companies put forward 1,141 recommendations to Chinese policymakers, aimed at smoothing over various obstacles faced by European firms in the country.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
17 Sep. 2025
-
But just as emerging concerns around hallucinations, data privacy and copyright have put up barriers to generative AI that some organizations have found insurmountable, agents have their own set of obstacles.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Between bites and sips, head to one of five festival stages for some great performances.—
Melinda Salchert,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
-
As Venice wraps up and festival-goers take the final sips of their spritzes, here are five takeaways from the floating city.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Warm water may push adult crabs deeper as well.—
Bill Kearney,
Miami Herald,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Who’s going to climb over all the other crabs and inevitably kill them in order to survive?—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drags.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drags. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share