INCHED Synonyms: 43 Similar and Opposite Words

inched

verb

Definition of inched

past tense of inch

as in encroached

to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits every year the water inches further up the embankments, threatening to permanently engulf the island city

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in dragged

to move slowly the car inched carefully across the snow-covered causeway

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 inched And Europe, where retail traffic was weak this summer, which inched up 3 percent to $696 million. — Evan Clark, Footwear News, 5 Nov. 2026 In the distance, the soaring statue of Marianne – the national symbol of France – got smaller and smaller as the march inched its way forward. — Soph Warnes, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2026 Adebayo inched closer to becoming the Heat’s all-time leading rebounder, but his early-season struggles continue. — Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026 Visa — Shares of the electronic payments giant inched down 2%. — Davis Giangiulio,darla Mercado, Cfp®, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026 His kick before the break from 59 yards out inched over the crossbar. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 But the lead dwindled through four innings as the Brewers inched their way forward, tying the game in the fifth inning and taking the lead in the sixth with a solo home run from center fielder Garrett Mitchell. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 Applications for unemployment benefits inched up last week as layoffs remain historically low and most American workers enjoy job security. — Matt Ott, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 As temperatures inched into the 90s last October, the military marched into Memphis. — Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inched

Verb

The buzzer sounded and Banchero encroached on Johnson’s space before Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu tried to break them apart.

— Lauren Williams, AJC.com, 23 Oct. 2026
However, the brand’s initial dominance has gradually waned, according to insiders, as competing brands have encroached on Fenty Beauty’s market share.

— Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of encroached

Verb

The Euphemism Problem In April 2017, a passenger was dragged off a United Airlines flight in Chicago.

— Ronn Torossian, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026
The ship dragged its anchor along the seabed for about 80 miles, damaging two telecommunications cables, according to a court statement.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of dragged

Verb

This year has both flown past and also crawled along at a snail’s pace.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2026
The lawsuit says Brave crawled and copied content from more than 30 billion webpages in its index without identifying itself or providing the owners of websites any mechanism to block its crawler, according to the newspapers’ complaint.

— Molly Crane Newman, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of crawled

Verb

For months now, so much vitriol crept into our TVs, interrupting the Bears or your favorite college football team with a special message from a super PAC or a partisan looking to score points by smearing their opponents.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
LePage’s decision to spend more time in Florida after leaving the governor’s mansion has also crept into the consideration of at least some voters following a drumbeat of attacks by Dunlap.

— David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of crept

Verb

Reid returned but kept grabbing at his lower back, White returned after being poked in eye.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Nov. 2026
Kessler, standing nearby during Williams’ postgame news conference, poked his head out from behind a black curtain and gave his teammate a thumbs-up.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of poked

Browse Nearby Words

inch by inch

inched

inches

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“Inched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inched. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of inched

verb

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