1
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
2
as in stumbles
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
oxen plodding through deep mud
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3
4
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plods
Verb
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Alan Stanton said the conservative county strives not to overregulate in general.
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New legislation introduced by a bipartisan group of senators strives to add new aircraft to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Hurricane Hunter fleet and codify the agency’s role in meteorological research.
Verb
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After a rocky start, Joey stumbles on some talents and goes to great lengths to impress Leonard in his audition for a play.
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The first robot stumbles on aluminum debris, its wheels furiously trying to get traction and move around the obstacle.
Verb
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There’s a sense that Kaprizov depends too much on Zuccarello and that Zuccarello drags Kaprizov into the east-west game that’s the opposite of how the Wild want to play.
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As the search drags on, the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday commended police for their efforts after weeks of shooting incidents brought international attention to the city’s gun violence problem as thousands of soccer fans visit for the FIFA World Cup.
Verb
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At the sound of morning prayers, an older Clarissa awakens from this dream and shuffles out to her lawn, where the leafy bush has been replaced with the industrial skyline of Lagos.
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Tristan returns home and greets James while Siegfried shuffles the woman out the window.
Verb
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The introvert who generates extraordinary individual insight but struggles to inspire large groups gets an extroverted deputy to do the rallying.
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When Little John struggles to describe his dream girl, Robin instructs his protegee to sketch an image with words.
Verb
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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.
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His previous book, The Village Idiot (2022), explored the historical reality of the early-twentieth-century School of Paris artists from the dreamlike perspective of the expressionist painter Chaïm Soutine, who trudges beneath the Seine in a diving suit.
Verb
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At sunset, the city starts glowing around you while traffic crawls silently below.
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Critics on the Croisette are starting to resemble that classic comic-strip panel in which an explorer crawls desperately across the sand toward an oasis that’s only a mirage.
Verb
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Suddenly, the trees part and a Tyrannosaurus rex stomps into view.
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Set in the evening, the scene broods as an unknown figure, only identifiable by his terrible Lego haircut and furry boots, stomps toward the Stallion Saloon.
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Cite this Entry
“Plods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plods. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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