1
as in laboring
to devote serious and sustained effort
plodded night and day to get the assignment done
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
oxen plodding through deep mud
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in dragging
to move slowly
plodded reluctantly off to work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in relentless
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in ambling
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of plodding
Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Josh Yohe, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
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
Still, some 90 Guard members were among the forces seen plodding through the popular park where children with a day camp played.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025
In the east of Ukraine, Russian forces meanwhile continued to make plodding but significant advances, while the authorities in Kyiv grew more eager for a ceasefire, as did their constituents.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 8 Aug. 2025
Vince Vaughn, plodding and weary-eyed, plays Easy, a Vegas nightclub singer who’s just trying to do respectable work in whatever venue will have him.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Verb
Occasionally, as in the obscurity of Legion’s later episodes or the plodding pace of some Fargo plots, this approach can verge on self-indulgence.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
The Penguins beat the Rangers in a plodding affair to start the season, but this was more of a high-spirited, up-and-down game.
—Josh Yohe, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
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
Still, some 90 Guard members were among the forces seen plodding through the popular park where children with a day camp played.
—Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025
In the east of Ukraine, Russian forces meanwhile continued to make plodding but significant advances, while the authorities in Kyiv grew more eager for a ceasefire, as did their constituents.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 8 Aug. 2025
Vince Vaughn, plodding and weary-eyed, plays Easy, a Vegas nightclub singer who’s just trying to do respectable work in whatever venue will have him.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plodding
Verb
-
With The Fulfillment, the sub-context is how clout culture is a currency, how attention itself has become a currency, just like our laboring bodies are.—
Christopher Claxton,
Billboard,
19 Sep. 2025
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While such a scenario sounds potentially maudlin and manipulative, Lucero — who wrote the film from a personal place — never allows that to happen by making the characters complex and flawed, and laboring under real-life issues.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Footage of a father stumbling around, apparently carrying the headless body of his baby?—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Remaining unclaimed playoff spots The final two playoff spots in the Western Conference are up for grabs, with FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, the Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes all stumbling towards the finish line.—
Tom Bogert,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With the shutdown dragging on, GOP leaders in Congress will have to decide soon whether to extend that date, and by how much.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
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The comments came deep into the third week of the shutdown, which is dragging on with no clear end in sight amid a partisan fight in the Senate over federal funding priorities.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Suddenly, a horde of ragged, bloodied creatures appear, their feet shuffling along the pavement, their hollow eyes locked on fleeing figures ahead.—
Tom Duszynski,
The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2025
-
But after some shuffling at the position, Horn finally got his opportunity and immediately impacted the offense with the threat of his speed.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Diabate is relentless and has an uncanny knack for the ball, endearing himself to his teammates with his penchant for keeping the ball alive or snatching offense rebounds off the glass.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Oct. 2025
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Roundhill actually shut its meme ETF down at one point because of lack of interest, but revived it earlier this month as retail traders dive back into this relentless bull market.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Six of their big chances came against struggling Forest, with Newcastle converting just one of those, while four more came in the wild 3-2 defeat against Liverpool.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Despite rapid growth, many marketers remain in the early stages of maturity—focused on automating legacy processes and struggling to measure ROI.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ohio State’s win against Texas is still fine, but the Longhorns have looked disappointing, too, after trudging through a 27-10 win against UTEP.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
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In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Tropical Storm Melissa is crawling through the Caribbean Sea, threatening to unleash life-threatening flooding and mudslides across parts of the region later this week.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
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These flat robots have multiple modes of movement, capable of jumping or crawling at multiple speeds.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plodding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plodding. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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