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
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 Screenwriter Zach Helm, whose credits include Stranger Than Fiction and Deep Water, is penning the script. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 25 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 Former first-round NBA draft pick Enes Kanter Freedom has made good on his promise to declare for next year's WNBA Draft, officially penning a letter to the league on Monday. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Meyers and Olyphant’s talk-show rapport dates back several years, with Olyphant penning his own introductions on Late Night multiple times. — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 31 July 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
  • Jokes aside, Eisenberg flexes a new skill in writing several quality and quirky original songs.
    — Cortlyn Kelly, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The obvious solution, Bell said, is for consumers to stop writing checks.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of writing
Verb
  • 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
  • The billion-dollar, 300,000-square-foot museum, which opens to the public on September 22, encompasses 100,000 square feet of gallery space housing the collection of Lucas and Hobson.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of housing
Verb
  • In July, OpenAI said its models were responsible for a cyber incident on another company, while Anthropic’s Claude models were also responsible for cybersecurity incidents, including in one case where Mythos created fake identities to fool humans.
    — Kai Nicol-Schwarz, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Mainly based in Romania since 2017, the pair has been under investigation since December 2022 in that country for allegations including human trafficking.
    — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of including
Verb
  • Frustrated with the confining nature of Japanese society, Kusama left for New York in 1957.
    — Kaori Kaneko, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
  • With Rear Window, Hitchcock and his collaborators miraculously craft an exhilarating, satisfying mystery-thriller while confining the protagonist to a single location.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 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
  • There’ll still be conversations surrounding the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and most of us anticipate a lot of shocked reactions from those learning when our birthdays and wedding anniversaries take place.
    — Sneha Dhandapani, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Those statues peering down from surrounding buildings seem to nod their approval.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 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
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Cite this Entry

“Penning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penning. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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