GRAPPLING Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

grappling

verb

Definition of grappling

present participle of grapple

as in wrestling

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in grabbing

to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly a crane grappled the sunken boat and hoisted it above water

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 grappling The smoke has been an ongoing issue over the past week, with Marylanders grappling with the poor air quality. — Nicole Pilsbury, Baltimore Sun, 17 July 2026 Damascus has promoted Syria — still grappling with the aftermath of its own 14-year civil war — as a bastion of stability and has offered it as an alternative transit route for energy shipments. — ABC News, 17 July 2026 Parts of the Northeast and Midwest were shrouded in smoky, hazy skies on Thursday, while also grappling with record-high temperatures. — Chantelle Lee, Time, 17 July 2026 The campaign comes as local agencies have been grappling with how best to address an influx in complaints and calls for service related to e-bikes and e-motorcycles. — Rose Evans july 17, Idaho Statesman, 17 July 2026 Many institutions are grappling with budget cuts, program eliminations, and closures due to declining enrollment and financial pressures. — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 At a time when executives are grappling multiple workforce challenges, Perel says the instinct can be to rely on better tools or shorter meetings. — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 17 July 2026 The attacks have heaped pressure on Russia’s economy, which is already grappling with the worst fuel shortages since the fall of the Soviet Union. — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 15 July 2026 The military is already grappling with troop shortages and many Israelis have grown tired of the long-standing system that allowed ultra-Orthodox men to avoid service. — Melanie Lidman, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grappling

Verb

Much of the season finds Lestat wrestling with profound guilt, including over the death of their daughter, Claudia (played with harrowing grace by Delainey Hayles).

— Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Haiken says his dealership will have to find new uses for some of its facilities — and other dealers are likely also wrestling with hard decisions.

— Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 10 July 2026

Definition of wrestling

Verb

Permethrin is a spray that works on clothing and gear to keep ticks from grabbing you, but do not put it directly on your skin!

— Amanda Roome, The Conversation, 16 July 2026
As recently as 2021, he was accused of grabbing the mother of one of his children and throwing her to the ground.

— Candace Buckner, New York Times, 16 July 2026

Definition of grabbing

Verb

Global oil prices have climbed sharply since the US and Iran resumed fighting over a week ago, imperiling peace talks.

— Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
Some Republican election officials take a stand Republican election officials in a handful of states are among those fighting the DOJ’s demands.

— Bart Jansen, USA Today, 18 July 2026

Definition of fighting

Verb

Scylla pounces, snatching members of the crew between her jaws.

— Chris Moody, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
Kane spent more than a decade plugging away, loyally, at his first club, Tottenham Hotspur, a perpetual Premier League bridesmaid (or worse) whose name has become a byword for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

— Jon Allsop, New Yorker, 14 July 2026

Definition of snatching

Verb

Many developed a deep affection for the country and its artistic innovations, while seizing on business opportunities.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
And some have responded by seizing the female obsession with looks, already rooted in misogyny, and rebranding it with maximum toxicity—in other words, by becoming looksmaxxers.

— Jia Tolentino, New Yorker, 11 July 2026

Definition of seizing

Verb

The European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter has been capturing some of the Red Planet's most surreal landscapes, and its latest images reveal a sprawling field that looks like molten metal frozen across the floor of an ancient Mars crater.

— Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 17 July 2026
The companies that did were far more likely to report capturing real value from their AI investments, roughly 76% of them, against about half of the companies where that accountability sat with the CIO or CTO.

— David Zwick, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026