1
2
3
as in to push
to apply force to (someone or something) so that it moves in front of one
drove the plunger into the opening
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to force
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
the corrupt governor was driven out of office
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to activate
to cause to function
machinery driven by waterpower
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to move
to set or keep in motion
this motor drives the gears, which then turn the shaft
Synonyms & Similar Words
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7
as in to travel
to proceed or move quickly
the runner drove past the finish line and then came to a dead stop
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in road
a passage cleared for public vehicular travel
raced our motorcycles along the drive
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2
as in campaign
a series of activities undertaken to achieve a goal
a fund-raising drive for the school's marching band
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3
as in desire
a strong wish for something
a drive to succeed in the television news business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in energy
active strength of body or mind
senior citizens who exercise regularly are more likely to have the drive to keep up with their grandchildren
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5
as in ambition
readiness to engage in daring or difficult activity
a great opportunity for a sales representative who is full of drive
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of drive
Ashley Nunes, Boston Herald, 7 June 2025
Goldstein drove Boozer home with a sacrifice fly and Corral plated the go-ahead run with a single through the right side.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2025
Umar Shakir, The Verge, 7 Feb. 2023
As part of the drive for efficiency, NHS managers were pressured to keep bed vacancies low.
—David Luhnow, WSJ, 6 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for drive
Verb
And two-thirds of households with an EV have another non-EV that is driven more — hardly a recipe for climate success given that EVs must be driven (a lot) to deliver climate benefits.
—Ashley Nunes, Boston Herald, 7 June 2025
Goldstein drove Boozer home with a sacrifice fly and Corral plated the go-ahead run with a single through the right side.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2025
Noun
Details sent to the company included the health and read / write values of the drive using CrystalDiskInfo, which is a program that can read the SMART data embedded in most hard disks.
—Umar Shakir, The Verge, 7 Feb. 2023
As part of the drive for efficiency, NHS managers were pressured to keep bed vacancies low.
—David Luhnow, WSJ, 6 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for drive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drive
Verb
-
The state’s current governor, Democrat Phil Murphy, can't run again after serving two terms.—
Brittany Shepherd,
ABC News,
10 June 2025
-
In 1933, Berg ran what amounted to a Very Special Episode: a full Seder, sung by a real cantor, which Pepsodent, her sponsor, agreed to air without ads.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Verb
-
Those motoring to work in a Rolls-Royce aren’t being left out, either.—
Susan Campos,
The Hollywood Reporter,
23 Mar. 2025
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The man appears to briefly lift the scooter away from the child’s leg, the child gets back on the scooter, and Miller eventually motors away.—
Chris Boyette,
CNN Money,
4 May 2025
Verb
-
This happens when water in front of the tire builds up faster than the vehicle's weight can push water out of the way.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
9 June 2025
-
Ritter had pushed for a visible method of relief and so checks for $250 per year will be sent to lower-income households with children.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
8 June 2025
Verb
-
Despite Anna’s meticulous preparations, her intent to force confessions from the passengers and deliver them directly to authorities is immediately derailed when just hours into the trip one of her guests is murdered.—
Lexy Perez,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2025
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Whether that’s a trial site, a community center or the patient’s workplace, this model removes friction from both ends: Participants aren’t forced to travel, and sponsors don’t have to wait for overwhelmed sites to come online.—
Sonali Bloom,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
Verb
-
In other words, for reasons still not fully understood, the robot’s yawn may have activated a biological response in the chimpanzees that led them to associate the gesture with sleep or rest.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
5 June 2025
-
Rocker had been dominant in two rehab outings prior to being activated on Wednesday.—
Compiled From Wire Reports,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
The two new fire stations, plus the new fire department headquarters that is set to hold a relocated Fire Station 4, are being moved at the recommendation of a 2021 plan that looked to lower emergency response times.—
R. Christian Smith,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2025
-
Word moved around the ticket-holders, likely waiting for Novak Djokovic’s match to follow this one, that one of their own was doing something special.—
James Hansen,
New York Times,
2 June 2025
Verb
-
The ban, which goes into effect on Monday, bars travel to the United States by citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.—
Hamed Aleaziz,
New York Times,
5 June 2025
-
With a robust slate, strategic partnerships, and international ambitions, the production house is betting big on content that travels — whether vertically on mobile screens or globally across borders.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
4 June 2025
Noun
-
These disruptions often result in road closures, traffic spikes and delays across key transit routes, severely affecting delivery schedules.—
Clemente Theotokis,
Forbes.com,
10 June 2025
-
But Woldenberg, who holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and who worked at a corporate law firm before joining the family business, has been down this road before.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drive. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
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