1
as in wrestled
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
two sumo wrestlers grappling like a pair of mammoth bears
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2
as in grabbed
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
a crane grappled the sunken boat and hoisted it above water
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of grappled
Justice Samuel Alito expressed concern over how the rise of state laws allowing mail ballots to be received after Election Day could undermine public confidence in the electoral process, as the Supreme Court grappled with the legality of Mississippi’s late-arriving mail ballot law Monday.
—
Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026
The court also grappled with whether state laws allowing for late-arriving ballots from military and overseas ballots could survive.
—Mark Sherman, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
Labor leaders also grappled with the moment.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2026
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Kaplan questioned McCarty’s plan to expand homelessness services as the city grappled with a $66 million budget deficit.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, China’s economy has in recent years grappled with a prolonged property crisis, weak domestic demand, and industrial overcapacity that resulted in deflationary pressures.
—John Liu, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
The orbiting outpost's Canadarm2 grappled Cygnus XL that day, berthing it to the Unity module.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Meaning, the Supreme Court has not directly grappled with what constitutional protections Americans have when the government uses AI.
—Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
Players from both sides grappled with each other.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026
The court also grappled with whether state laws allowing for late-arriving ballots from military and overseas ballots could survive.
—Mark Sherman, Twin Cities, 23 Mar. 2026
Labor leaders also grappled with the moment.
—Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2026
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Kaplan questioned McCarty’s plan to expand homelessness services as the city grappled with a $66 million budget deficit.
—Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, China’s economy has in recent years grappled with a prolonged property crisis, weak domestic demand, and industrial overcapacity that resulted in deflationary pressures.
—John Liu, CNN Money, 12 Mar. 2026
The orbiting outpost's Canadarm2 grappled Cygnus XL that day, berthing it to the Unity module.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Meaning, the Supreme Court has not directly grappled with what constitutional protections Americans have when the government uses AI.
—Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2026
Players from both sides grappled with each other.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grappled
Verb
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Like many websites, Wikipedia has wrestled with how to handle the paradigm shift in generative AI for online text content.—
Jon Martindale,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
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Georgia lawmakers Tuesday wrestled with how to preserve public access to mug shots and police video while protecting the people portrayed in those images from online exploitation.—
David Wickert,
AJC.com,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The prosecutor said Abril confronted the couple, at which point James MacEgan was shot and killed, before Abril grabbed MacEgan’s wife and pulled her into the creek.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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Scheierman also hit two earlier threes, grabbed five rebounds and pestered Gilgeous-Alexander to force a third-quarter turnover to help Boston take down the defending NBA champions 119-109.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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About 2% of authors were caught, and their papers rejected, Nature reported.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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In the past, ranching in the West has caught flak for its heavy footprint on the environment and overreliance on government subsidies.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The department shared photos of what their officers seized, which included a gun and a baby bottle authorities say was filled with the drug mixture known as lean.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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In March, Hungarian counterterrorism authorities seized two trucks, owned by a Ukrainian bank, that were passing through the country on a routine cash-transport run from Vienna.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Max Verstappen snatched the torch from Lewis Hamilton and became one of the most unstoppable Formula 1 drivers in the sport from 2021 to 2024.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
29 Mar. 2026
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This is the same person who cut off dribble-drives in a second-half effort that shut down Minnesota in the Sweet 16, who snatched a pass that was nearly out of bounds for a layup.—
Haley Sawyer,
Daily News,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Here’s how the other following contenders landed in the top five for Charlotte’s best places to live.—
Chase Jordan
March 30,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Mar. 2026
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While still a teen, Dean landed a gig singing backup vocals for the British drum and bass group Rudimental, which led her to self-release music and secure a contract with an EMI subsidiary.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Abril was captured after a 33-hour manhunt.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
26 Mar. 2026
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Along with the album cover, the shared a new black and white portrait of himself, captured by daughter Mary McCartney.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grappled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grappled. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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