drew on

verb

past tense of draw on
1
as in caused
to be the cause of (a situation, action, or state of mind) the general's imprudent remarks drew on a public rebuke by the secretary of defense

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in came
to come near or nearer night draws on, so we should hurry home

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 drew on The researchers drew on several existing studies of older adults. — Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026 The word drew on ideas from alchemy, where the agent was the active substance that spun gold from the mundane. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026 Researchers also drew on the Dunedin Study, which has followed nearly 1,000 people born in 1972 and 1973 from birth into adulthood. — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 18 July 2026 DeRogatis drew on her own experiences to give the story its realism. — Nissa Renzo, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 Born in Brooklyn to a Haitian father and a Puerto Rican mother, Basquiat drew on a wide range of cultural references that shaped both his life and his work. — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 26 June 2026 Pakistan drew on Chinese and Turkish equipment; India relied on French and Israeli weapons. — Michael Kugelman, Time, 26 June 2026 The December 2025 study behind the platform drew on more than 21,000 online interviews across the four new markets, measuring awareness, likeability and purchase intent for approximately 200 titles spanning anime, gaming, film, television, sports, music and creators. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 June 2026 The interiors drew on local textiles, the cabin libraries were chock-full of books on local flora and fauna. — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 22 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drew on
  1. caused
  2. came
  3. created
  4. came up
  5. brought
  6. closed
  7. generated
  8. approached
Verb
  • Police said that the driver, only identified as a man in his 70s, accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, which caused the car to accelerate into the building, striking someone inside.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The park was scheduled to open last year, but was delayed when winter rains caused two major landslides along its cliffs, requiring significant shoring up to keep an emergency access route open.
    — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of caused
Verb
  • That came just a few days after news broke that Palantir had secured a $10 billion contract from the US Army over the next decade.
    — Allison Morrow, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2025
  • All five of Bednar’s outs came via strikeout on Wednesday.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2025
Definition of came
Verb
  • Amaya joined DePaul in October 2022 and, according to her lawsuit, created and oversaw the athletic department’s mental health education programming.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Some of the loudest opposing voices are creatives, who see the products being created by AI companies as something threatening to their own practice and to the world at-large.
    — T.M. Brown, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of created
Verb
  • The reason the thought came up is that the Cardinals essentially gave up on their team, even though the club was having a solid season.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • When the idea of a canine follow-up came up, the center expressed interest in hosting it.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of came up
Verb
  • Firefighters brought the blaze under control and the injured were taken to a hospital where some were being treated for burn injuries while others suffered from smoke inhalation and asphyxiation, the report said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The case was brought by Strawberry Growers for Fair Trade, a coalition of Florida strawberry producers, whose berries are typically harvested during the winter months.
    — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of brought
Verb
  • Walmart, in fact, closed its Chatham store very near the Capital One call center earlier this year.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • It's been closed for nearly two years, but restoration of the Panther Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh's Schenley Park has been completed.
    — Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of closed
Verb
  • Brian Otieno/Getty Images For years, Harry had donated the annual income generated by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to Sentebale, but that ended this year.
    — Diego Parrado, Vanity Fair, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Barry Iverson / Getty Images file While that one is clearly painted, the more modern images appear to have been generated with the help of artificial intelligence, including one depicting the White House on fire.
    — Max Butterworth, NBC news, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of generated
Verb
  • Cue forward Josh Windass revealing on camera how James, as one of those who had worn the armband during the season, had approached him about setting up a meeting with just the players present.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Even in the nineteenth century, before the neuronic machinery of the retina was fully understood, biologists approached the eye with wonderment.
    — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of approached

Browse Nearby Words

drew (off)
drew on
drew out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Drew on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drew%20on. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All