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penning 1 of 2

verb (1)

present participle of pen
as in enclosing
to close or shut in by or as if by barriers remember to pen up the dogs when visitors come over

Synonyms & Similar Words

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penning

2 of 2

verb (2)

present participle of pen
as in writing
to compose and set down on paper the words of though relatively unknown at the time of his death, the composer had penned some of the most memorable show tunes of his era

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 penning
Verb
In September 1981, Leckey started penning his own column for the Sun-Times on investing and personal finance while continuing to report on economics, banking and accounting. — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026 Dan Gregor & Doug Mand, the screenwriting duo behind 2025’s reboot of The Naked Gun, are penning Crazy Taxi. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026 The couple, who tied the knot in the season 1 finale, are also set to start penning the first pages of their very own love story this season. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2026 Jeff Pope is penning a drama about the investigation into Everard’s 2021 murder for the BBC. — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 Aug. 2026 An American treasure In a career that spanned over half a century, Parton captured the American experience, penning more than 3,000 songs. — CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026 Miley Cyrus joined the chorus of celebrities mourning the loss of Dolly Parton, penning a heartfelt tribute to the transcendent country music star-humanitarian who was also her godmother. — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026 Denis Villeneuve is set to direct an upcoming Bond film for Amazon MGM Studios, with Peaky Blinders mastermind Steven Knight penning the script. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026 Marsh was an early champion of Springsteen, writing about him for Creem magazine and penning his first Rolling Stone cover story in 1978. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penning
  1. enclosing
  2. writing
  3. housing
  4. including
  5. confining
  6. encasing
  7. surrounding
  8. caging
Verb
  • Nearby is The Birth, 2026, a ziggurat partly woven from bags of fertilizer, enclosing a film installation about the assembly of drones, shot in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
    — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Like the work of other Palestinian artists of his generation, Mansour’s paintings helped carry the dreams and testimony of his people beyond the walls enclosing Gaza and the West Bank.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of enclosing
Verb
  • Reducing Burnout With An AI-Powered Therapy Scribe Therapists across behavioral health, physical therapy and occupational therapy sectors often spend hours after sessions writing notes.
    — Sameer Bhat, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • My first Herald job was answering phones and writing a local bowling column.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of writing
Verb
  • The high-rise residential building had been housing a large number of Palestinian families displaced by the war between Hamas and Israel.
    — Morgan Winsor, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The site now housing 111 employees is part of the bank’s plan for growth in the Charlotte region.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of housing
Verb
  • Meta also says the platform will support more than 100 immersive live sports events each year through partners including ESPN and TNT Sports.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Many of them, including Ned and his childhood friend and rival, Roland, are scarred by their time as youth players, haunted by memories of the sadistic coaches and cruel, competitive fathers who terrorized them both on and off the court.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of including
Verb
  • If youth teams practiced like the pros, confining full contact to once a week, impacts could fall by more than half, Daneshvar says.
    — Alexandra Pattillo, Scientific American, 23 Sep. 2026
  • In December 2025, non-profit Amnesty International wrote in a report that confining men in small cages exposed to the elements could constitute torture under international law.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of confining
Verb
  • Little Miner’s version isn’t so much a riff as an homage, with a flour tortilla encasing queso sauce, tortilla chips, chipotle aioli, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, sour cream and a choice of proteins.
    — Warren Rojas, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The spigots serve as injection ports, where crews can pump grout behind the tunnel wall, with the goal of coating and encasing the entire tunnel lining under the Newtown Creek in a waterproof layer, filling any cracks along the way.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026
Definition of encasing
Verb
  • The privacy problem The bigger concern surrounding this tech, however, is privacy.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Meanwhile, bodies are starting to float in from the surrounding lakes and streams, transforming the picturesque setting into a hellscape that, when the Soviets arrive, is likely to get worse.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • None of the people involved in caging the fawn were identified, according to the release.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026
  • The type of tomato plant and whether it is supported with staking or caging factors into spacing.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
Definition of caging

Browse Nearby Words

penniless
penning
pennon
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Penning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penning. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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