1
as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
plodded night and day to get the assignment done
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2
as in to stumble
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
oxen plodding through deep mud
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
4
as in to shuffle
to move heavily or clumsily
wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plod
The Room 13 maze perfectly matches the tired, plodding and slow jazz soundtrack.
—
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
The two fighters advanced, Ali jogging enthusiastically and Frazier plodding, cautious.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
Creating stores of reliable data and the systems needed to power them—the core of most companies’ ongoing digital transformation efforts—is plodding work.
—Emily Acton, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
On top of this, the game’s plodding pace, laborious puzzles, and sluggish character movement left us at the edge of our wits, rather than our seats.
—Echo Apsey, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plod
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
The two fighters advanced, Ali jogging enthusiastically and Frazier plodding, cautious.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2025
Creating stores of reliable data and the systems needed to power them—the core of most companies’ ongoing digital transformation efforts—is plodding work.
—Emily Acton, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
On top of this, the game’s plodding pace, laborious puzzles, and sluggish character movement left us at the edge of our wits, rather than our seats.
—Echo Apsey, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for plod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plod
Verb
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In my experience, this is especially true in the lonely hours of the night while struggling with chronic pain.—
Joni Eareckson Tada,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Oct. 2025
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After an effort to create a Falls of the Ohio national park fell short in 1967, Kentucky and Indiana officials struggled to stop the falls from becoming a garbage dump.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Most people don’t accidentally stumble into building a multimillion-dollar empire.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
22 Oct. 2025
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The trio stumbles upon a crucial piece of evidence - and promptly compromises it.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His low cross found Pascal Gross for a tap-in at the far post after Luke Shaw had been dragged central trying to cut off Adam Lallana.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Vader moves the blade, raises it, but the shadow seems to only deepen, the pull of the dark side suddenly stronger, a riptide that threatens to drag him under.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The technology included corrupt automatic shuffling machines that read cards and predicted which player had the best hand.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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And after Paulsen’s five seasons in Washington, several of those Shanahan-tree coaches indeed shuffled Paulsen from building to building, staff to staff.—
Jourdan Rodrigue,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sweet Vincent, written and directed by Ciara Boniface, centers a professional jazz musician reconciling with an old flame during a pivotal performance, both haunted by grief and striving for connection.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
23 Oct. 2025
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The communique said Beijing will strive to improve people’s welfare and the social security system, but did not provide details on how Beijing intends to achieve that or where the funds would come from.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Tour rookie Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark trudged through the past three weeks but said Sunday the conditions were a part of golf.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Oct. 2025
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To get there, the Norwegian explorers navigated the interminable snowfields of interior Antarctica, trudging through the harshest climates on earth for 56 days.—
Brad Japhe,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When a storm crawls like this, rainfall piles up over the same towns for days.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
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Modern Wall Street has killed just about everything cool that walks or crawled at one time or another.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ghost City Tours said Ryman's spirit would stomp around the room so loudly that spectators would be forced to leave.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
21 Oct. 2025
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The sound of her stomping up the staircase causes her parents to share a look of weary consternation.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plod. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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