PLODS Synonyms: 159 Similar and Opposite Words

plods

verb

present tense third-person singular of plod

as in strives

to devote serious and sustained effort plodded night and day to get the assignment done

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbles

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually oxen plodding through deep mud

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in drags

to move slowly plodded reluctantly off to work

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as in shuffles

to move heavily or clumsily wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plods

Verb

Chesney called Martin an unbelievable leader and said that his energy will give people a window into what his program strives to look like.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Thuso Mbedu stars as Zélie, who strives to bring back magic to her kingdom.

— Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of strives

Verb

In the movie, the two actors first cross paths when Ledger’s character stumbles upon Bettany, who is fully naked, strolling through the streets after losing his clothes and money from gambling.

— Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 22 Aug. 2026
Shortly after, a young man stumbles towards Pat from the direction of the pub, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

— Sheena McKenzie, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of stumbles

Verb

Some of those embassy staff may start returning to their posts soon, however the State Department is still limiting the number of personnel in the Middle East as the war in Iran drags on.

— Greg Dixon, NPR, 21 Aug. 2026
But after years of unprecedented contributions to astronomy, the forces governing the cosmos are finally taking their toll as Earth’s gravitational pull slowly drags the telescope closer towards a point of no return.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

In the clip, Dawkins shuffles out onto the field with no shirt, a pair of Crocs and a clear plastic bag ready to get the ol' inside-out treatment.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 16 Aug. 2026
An exhibition game also shuffles the storylines — some players emerge, others might fade.

— Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of shuffles

Verb

In between being an attorney, single mom and caregiver, Jane (Mann) struggles to find any time for herself, and Coco (Buteau) is battling her own rage and resentment amid a divorce.

— Erin Jensen, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
In the five months since McCollough’s death, her younger sister Colleen still struggles to wrap her mind around how drastically McCollough changed during her time with Watts.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of struggles

Verb

Enola dutifully trudges between clues and possibilities, shuffling through crime scenes and racing around shady spaces, all of this much more paint-by-numbers than connect-the-dots.

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 30 June 2026
However, even as the team trudges to a play-in spot rather than a top seed, Green was adamant that the Warriors’ standard of competitiveness cannot change.

— Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026

Definition of trudges

Verb

Hairy-nosed wombat births are hard to spot, as after about a 30-day pregnancy, the joey crawls into its mother’s pouch.

— Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026
Researchers have developed a new control framework that enables humanoid robots to perform agile movements, including army crawls, breakdancing and backflips.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawls

Verb

Achord bounces on his toes like an impatient little kid watching his guys work, stomps his right foot on the ground and vaults his right arm forward to demonstrate how someone should return a kick.

— Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
If anything, the dichotomy between the pop star who prances around Versailles in a sheer nightie and the pop star who stomps onstage in knee-high combat boots feels completely authentic and intentional.

— Chelsey Sanchez, CNN Money, 25 June 2026

Definition of stomps

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.

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ploddingly

plods

plop

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“Plods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plods. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of plods

verb

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