PLUNGING Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

plunging

verb

present participle of plunge

as in diving

to cast oneself head first into deep water she took a deep breath and plunged from the side of the pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

surfacing

as in falling

to go to a lower level especially abruptly prices for those televisions have really plunged since they were first introduced

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in descending

to lead or extend downward a stairway plunging into darkness

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 plunging Zendaya embraced her ethereal character by wearing a custom ivory Jacquemus draped gown with a simple halter neck and low-plunging back for a photo call in London. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 12 July 2026 London designer Talia Byre bridged the gap between both silhouettes with her extra-large, striped polo shirt-dress with its plunging v-neck. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 July 2026 Greece’s financial crisis wiped out a quarter of the country’s economy, plunging it into a depression that saw poverty spiral and unemployment skyrocket to around 27%. — ABC News, 10 July 2026 My point, of course, isn’t to call for blindly plunging forward. — Taylor Dotson, Scientific American, 10 July 2026 Yet another look from Lopez amid her time in Paris featured a black dress with a plunging neckline, velvet skirt and vintage Alaïa corset belt. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 8 July 2026 The final minutes of Flightradar24’s tracking data appeared chaotic, showing the plane plunging about 5,000 feet in less than a minute before soaring about 6,000 feet in 30 seconds and then entering a catastrophic dive from 36,550 feet. — Reuters, CNN Money, 8 July 2026 These crises are plunging many into anxiety and despair, especially young people whose futures have become uncertain. — Robert B. Tucker, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Handwerker revealed that Gerber joined her mom at the event with a second photo posted on July 5, which showed the Mother Mary actress wearing a bodycon black gown with a plunging sweetheart neckline that dipped to her ribs. — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 5 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plunging

Verb

The group was diving in the Golfo Nuevo around the Hu Shun Yu 809 artificial reef.

— Christine Pelisek, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
For Justin Kluivert’s, Bounou fell over in stages while diving the wrong way, but the Dutch forward hit the post anyway.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 7 July 2026

Definition of diving

Verb

Try to find a place that will block blowing or falling debris.

— CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026
Snow rooms, enclosed caverns of ice and snow, sometimes incorporating gently falling flakes, are the latest at-home flex for some of the world’s wealthiest, according to the New York Times.

— Elizabeth Fazzare, Architectural Digest, 15 July 2026

Definition of falling

Verb

Now, with a heat wave descending over much of Southern California, residents worry the odor could get even worse and scores of residents have called air quality regulators to complain.

— Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Guests descending into the speakeasy can look through the modern staircase to see the original structure preserved beneath it, offering a glimpse into the older bones of the building.

— Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 11 July 2026

Definition of descending

Verb

The cool mountain air offers a refreshing escape from muggy summer temperatures, with daytime highs typically hovering around 75 degrees Fahrenheit before dipping to the low 60s in the evening, so be sure to pack a light sweater.

— Alexandra Emanuelli, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2026
Messi’s outswinging corner was typically on the money, dipping and swerving deliciously over the first man and into a dangerous pocket of space.

— Stuart James, New York Times, 12 July 2026

Definition of dipping

Verb

When first responders arrived, some people were in the water, others were on the sinking boat, and others were falling into the water, Crispen said.

— Phil Helsel, NBC news, 15 July 2026
Des Jardins is looking for atmospheric gravity waves, which are essentially ripples of rising and sinking air in the atmosphere.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 15 July 2026

Definition of sinking

Verb

The pickup appeared to veer off the roadway before tumbling down the mountainside and eventually coming to rest at the bottom of the cliff, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

— Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 13 July 2026
Something, oh, like a roly-poly, 73-year-old manager tumbling ass over teakettle, as the old-timers say, when a bat thrown by Vladimir Guerrero clipped his left hip.

— Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 13 July 2026