Thesaurus results for PLUCKING

plucking

verb

present participle of pluck

as in squeezing

to rob by the use of trickery or threats the Internet opened up a whole new medium for con artists to pluck the gullible

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 plucking According to a case report published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the doctors gave the man a topical treatment to numb his eyes and then began plucking out the worms one by one with fine forceps. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 26 Oct. 2026 Pai Skincare Bright Now Exfoliating Toner, $49 Organic is not as simple as plucking some flowers and putting them on your face. — Brianna Peters, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026 Getting up from their seats backstage at Bear Shadow, Pandolfi and Falco head over to meet up with the other three Dusters who are plucking a few notes on their instruments under a large maple tree behind the stage. — Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2026 Upending global trade, plucking a dictator out of Caracas, escalating to full-on war with Iran, shredding alliances, courting despots — the major twists and turns of this administration never end. — Kate Andrews, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026 LLMs are great at finding blowups that exist—at searching the infinite landscape of fluid scenarios and plucking out the precise situation that breaks the equations. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2026 Fortunately, many dahlia insect problems in September can be solved by walking through the garden in the morning and plucking the offending insects off the plants by hand, then dropping them into a container of soapy water. — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Sep. 2026 Weiss has been reworking CBS News’ broadcast lineup, plucking Tony Dokoupil from the program for the Evening News slot, and most recently overhauling 60 Minutes under new executive producer Nick Bilton. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 The streamer has found its leading lady for the biopic, plucking an unknown first-timer to play the sertanejo icon. — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plucking

Verb

The remarks followed the release of strong quarterly results, with revenue and earnings beating analysts’ expectations despite a 6% downturn in revenue due to pressure squeezing all broadband purveyors.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
Fuel expenses are squeezing daily household budgets and tightening cash flow toward the end of the month, with reports indicating a growing number of French employees are requesting payroll advances to manage month end expenses.

— , CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezing

Verb

Particularly stinging is the rout of Chinese AI and tech firms, which leader Xi Jinping has positioned as the new productive engines of the country’s modern economy.

— Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
No more stinging your scalp in the name of a flawless blowout.

— Tasha Nicole Smith, Allure, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of stinging

Verb

That urgency has marked Holden’s prolific output—especially the thrilling first installment of his Supreme Magnetic series in 2025 and 2022’s Joe Frog—as the Harlem rapper uses his street-hustling past to paint an autobiographical portrait.

— Matthew Ritchie, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
The 30-second teaser sees Jackson hustling around town, making money and recruiting his team of crooks.

— Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of hustling

Verb

With all respect to West’s previous cheating-on-television canon, War might be his finest adulterous work.

— Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
Wood was vindicated three years later, when a league investigation revealed the Astros had been cheating in 2017, stealing signs from a television monitor next to the dugout and relaying them to batters by banging on trash cans.

— Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of cheating

Verb

Along with being a calf-sticking impostor, Conrad, according to Hemingway, was a malicious defamer.

— Stephen Bates, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
The Turkish and Yemeni traditions that incorporate cloves give the current trend a cultural anchor that pure wellness fads typically lack, which may be part of why this one is sticking.

— Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of sticking

Verb

Meanwhile, Eisenkot’s bloc, which consists of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties, would get 54 seats, beating Netanyahu while still falling short of a clear victory.

— Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2026
The Chicago Bears were 8-0 for the first time since 1942, after beating the Minnesota Vikings 27-9 at Soldier Field.

— Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of beating

Verb

Unlike MacKay’s Ferrars, seemingly the more loyal and irreproachable type, both men end up screwing over the Dashwoods in their own ways.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026
In a video from March 4, 2019, her co-worker David Xu can be seen approaching her desk, pouring a substance into the bottle, screwing the lid back on and quickly walking away.

— Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of screwing

Verb

Japan has long been viewed as a treasure trove of bankable manga, gaming and other forms of IP, but the country’s unique rights structures and ways of doing business have made collaboration more difficult for potential international partners.

— Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2026
The inescapable reality is that neither country can deliver any knockout blows against the other without doing grievous damage to itself.

— Ali Wyne, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of doing

Browse Nearby Words

pluckiness

plucking

plucks

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“Plucking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plucking. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of plucking

verb

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