Synonyms of grasping

grasping 1 of 2

adjective

ˈgra-spiŋ 

as in greedy

having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions

a grasping person who would rather buy a car he didn't need than give a dime to charity

Synonyms & Similar Words

• greedy
• eager
• mercenary
• acquisitive
• avaricious
• covetous
• avid
• coveting
• desirous
• moneygrubbing
• grabby
• rapacious
• materialistic
• devouring
• miserly
• insatiable
• ravenous
• discontented
• egocentric
• swinish
• hoggish
• grudging
• piggy
• gobbling
• piggish
• unquenchable
• lickerish
• unsatisfied
• gluttonous
• commercialistic
• begrudging
• resentful
• itchy
• discontent
• voracious
• egotistic
• egoistic
• self-centered
• malcontent
• self-seeking
• philistine

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• generous
• liberal
• charitable
• controlled
• altruistic
• magnanimous
• unselfish
• selfless
• bountiful
• handsome
• bounteous
• restrained
• moderate
• munificent
• unsparing
• content
• openhanded
• temperate
• satisfied
• nonmaterialistic
• openhearted
• freehanded
• sated
• greathearted

grasping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of grasp

1

as in understanding

to have a practical understanding of

he just doesn't grasp how important it is that he call when he'll be late

Synonyms & Similar Words

• understanding
• knowing
• comprehending
• appreciating
• possessing
• fathoming
• apprehending
• perceiving
• cognizing
• following
• having
• savvying
• kenning
• catching on (to)
• picking up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• misunderstanding
• misinterpreting
• misperceiving
• misconceiving
• misapprehending
• misknowing

2

as in clasping

to put one's arms around and press tightly

the departing soldier grasped his children a little closer than usual

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clasping
• hugging
• clinging
• cradling
• grabbing
• embracing
• holding
• enfolding
• wrapping
• crushing
• straining
• bear-hugging
• enclasping
• gripping
• clamping
• encircling
• patting
• folding
• locking
• enveloping
• snuggling
• stroking
• twining
• entwining
• fondling
• cuddling
• nuzzling
• petting
• bosoming
• embosoming
• nestling
• enwinding

3

as in holding

to reach for and take hold of by embracing with the fingers or arms

the attendant grasped my arm and steered me towards the door

Synonyms & Similar Words

• holding
• gripping
• taking
• clasping
• clutching
• clenching
• hanging on to
• catching
• laying hold of
• seizing
• snatching
• holding on (to)
• clinging (to)
• nabbing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discharging
• releasing
• freeing
• liberating
• dropping
• giving
• passing
• relinquishing
• transmitting
• delivering
• transferring
• handing
• entrusting
• turning over
• handing over
• unhanding

4

as in knowing

to have a clear idea of

the emergency operator finally grasped what he was trying to tell her

Synonyms & Similar Words

• understanding
• knowing
• deciphering
• comprehending
• recognizing
• seeing
• appreciating
• realizing
• getting
• sensing
• perceiving
• discerning
• seizing
• apprehending
• conceiving
• assimilating
• digging
• cognizing
• making
• intuiting
• beholding
• decoding
• catching
• registering
• grokking
• twigging
• compassing
• tumbling (to)
• catching on (to)
• making out
• savvying
• fathoming
• digesting
• absorbing
• picking up on
• cottoning (to or on to)
• penetrating
• taking in
• piercing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• missing
• misinterpreting
• misunderstanding
• misreading
• mistaking
• misconstruing
• misperceiving
• misconceiving
• misapprehending

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective grasping differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of grasping are acquisitive, avaricious, covetous, and greedy. While all these words mean "having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions," grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means.

a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates

When is it sensible to use acquisitive instead of grasping?

The synonyms acquisitive and grasping are sometimes interchangeable, but acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep.

an eagerly acquisitive mind

When could avaricious be used to replace grasping?

In some situations, the words avaricious and grasping are roughly equivalent. However, avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.

an avaricious miser

When might covetous be a better fit than grasping?

The words covetous and grasping are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions.

covetous of his brother's country estate

Where would greedy be a reasonable alternative to grasping?

The meanings of greedy and grasping largely overlap; however, greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire.

greedy for status symbols

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of grasping

Adjective

My hope is tenuous, grasping; scar tissue from 108 years of futility is never fully salved. — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026

In this war lawyers invariably are depicted as soulless and grasping ambulance-chasers unconcerned about their clients’ welfare, and businesses as, well, soulless, grasping and unconcerned about their customers. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026

The grasping big toe also suggested this human relative spent more time in the trees. — CBS News, 26 Nov. 2025

The father, Fyodor Karamazov, is a grasping, lecherous, deceitful, and shameless widower. — Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025

Engineers still struggle to replicate a grasping human hand, or the hand-eye coordination of a human brain. — Natan Linder, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Multiplied across numerous markets in every state, the LIHTC fuels more and more grasping for cash instead of reductions to make housing easier to create. — Roger Valdez, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024

Verb

The skills layer manages movements such as reaching, grasping, and placing objects, while the control layer operates the robot’s arms and hands. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 Nov. 2026

Here, all of a sudden, are a half-dozen teenagers bisecting the cobblestone street, arms lifted, hands assuming the claw shape of a smartphone holder, but grasping only air. — Isabella Cueto, STAT, 13 Nov. 2026

The whistle blew and Wilson headed directly to the sideline, grasping the back of his head and tipping his gaze skyward with that familiar expression of frustrated disbelief. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2026

The Slovenian star fell to the court, grasping his right ankle before slowly making his way up to his feet, connecting on his free throw, and exiting with the Lakers ahead 114-90. — Benjamin Royer, Oc Register, 11 Nov. 2026

Keeping desire alive means choosing pursuits that can never be finished – a craft, a field of study, a relationship – and letting the gap between reaching and grasping stay open. — Stacy Keltner, The Conversation, 30 Oct. 2026

The closest the Kardashian sisters have come to grasping the point is a discussion about society’s beauty standards in season three of The Kardashians, when Kylie Jenner brought the topic up to Khloé Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian. — Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 27 Oct. 2026

Among the Louvre’s loans is Bathsheba Holding King David’s Letter, from 1654, which depicts the heroine grasping King David’s disastrous summons. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Three months after his brother’s murder, Leroy still has a hard time grasping his family’s new reality. — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026