chiefly dialect

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 gumption Ellen is Team Colum, and that endorsement gives him enough gumption to ask his brother to kindly yield. Lincee Ray Published, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2025 Deep Vellum from Dallas, Texas showed particular gumption. Elizabeth Kaye Cook august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025 Because, in the first movie, that line came out of desperation and fear; a very young girl who just had a moment of gumption, and honestly, a killer could have jumped right out of that moment and taken her out. Angelique Jackson, Variety, 21 July 2025 The critics may be talking tough now, but Thune is betting that some of them won’t have the gumption to block the bill on the Senate floor and risk having Trump’s anger rain down on them through social media. Alexander Bolton, The Hill, 26 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for gumption
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gumption
Noun
  • Additionally, a boom-and-bust cycle in the early 2000s informs some of the company’s prudence on expansion.
    Zev Fima, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Meanwhile, Taiwan’s military should exercise prudence in its rules of engagement and not assume that every close call is intentional.
    JOEL WUTHNOW, Foreign Affairs, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Screenwriter-director Kevin Smith’s low-key musings and loopy wisdom are nicely wrapped with an unaffected sweetness.
    Duane Byrge, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Now, with the perspective of 10 more years, Rhimes revisits that journey with deeper honesty, humor and wisdom.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Eliminating the need for manual adjustments—whether for meals or for any other changes during the day—would give people with diabetes a tremendous sense of freedom.
    Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
  • That choice can shape your income, your sense of purpose, and the arc of your career.
    Suzy Welch, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Across almost 20 novels, the British author spun fantastical tales with unsentimental wit, infusing his work with darkly morbid humor, blithe child endangerment, rotten and antagonistic adults, and a willingness to occasionally laugh at the misfortune of others.
    Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Niehuus, an entertainmen lawyer by training but someone with a wicked wit, succeeds Bernd Neumann, an esteemed former minister of culture in the German government, who has stepped down.
    Leo Barraclough, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Gumption.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gumption. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on gumption

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!