as in urgent
needing immediate attention
she had pressing business on the other side of town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in seizing
to take or make use of under a guise of authority but without actual right
the fleeing bank robber pressed a nearby taxi into service as a getaway car
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in shoving
to push steadily against with some force
an old doorbell that requires you to press the button hard
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in squeezing
to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of
my family will only drink juice from freshly pressed oranges
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in huddling
to gather into a closely packed group
everyone pressed around me to see the pictures
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
5
as in forcing
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
a manager pressed by a business crisis to return from his vacation ahead of schedule
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in urging
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
pressed us to go with them to the school board meeting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in highlighting
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on
an office e-mail that presses the need for greater vigilance concerning building security
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of pressing
Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 29 May 2026
Trump framed a crackdown on immigration as a panacea for the country’s most pressing issues: fixing everything from the economy and the labor market to housing.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 May 2026
Rojas was announced as a scratch due to posterior elbow soreness an hour before the game started, pressing Woods Richardson back into starting duty.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pressing
Adjective
Cut Back on Outside Moisture Insects are naturally drawn to moist areas, an issue that only becomes more pressing as temperatures rise outside.
—Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 29 May 2026
Trump framed a crackdown on immigration as a panacea for the country’s most pressing issues: fixing everything from the economy and the labor market to housing.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Verb
Achraf Hakimi was at right-back but pressing the opposition left-back.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 28 May 2026
Rojas was announced as a scratch due to posterior elbow soreness an hour before the game started, pressing Woods Richardson back into starting duty.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for pressing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pressing
Adjective
-
The book does often feel like a recording of a mental jam session, but there is also a sense of being guided by a kind of hesitating yet urgent voice that needs to get things figured out.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
-
Drums echo off concrete walls, whistles slice through the night air, and thousands of voices gather into something loud and urgent.—
Radier Odhiambo,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Survivors describe squeezing through treacherous tunnels and seizing a brief drop in water levels to walk out, as tearful scenes greeted their emergence and uncertainty lingers over the missing pair.—
Jintamas Saksornchai,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
-
In recent years, the Houthis have demonstrated their ability to disrupt maritime navigation near Bab al-Mandeb by attacking, seizing and sinking vessels passing through its waters.—
CNN Staff,
CNN Money,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Neither is pushing, shoving or throwing people from the pool deck.—
Hali Smith
June 2,
Idaho Statesman,
2 June 2026
-
And Patrick Paul gave up a sack to Josh Uche during the final 11-on-11 period and shoving ensued.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Carting around unhappy campers in 100-degree weather and squeezing work into a shorter window is not exactly being poolside with a marg.—
Abby McCloskey,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2026
-
The defense is disciplined, squeezing pressure from its trio of wings.—
Esfandiar Baraheni,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
There were women like her—some Indigenous and some African-looking sorrowful in their coarse linen shifts, huddling together.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
-
Executives and coaches, huddling in a hushed room, mull a decision.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
White portrayed it as the natural result of two highly competitive personalities pushing each other.—
Alejandro Avila,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
-
While training large models requires mass amounts of parallel math — excellent work for a GPU — accessing that data and pushing it out to multiple agents requires more general compute offered by a CPU.—
Katie Tarasov,
CNBC,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Brith had swallowed, forcing down something hard in her throat.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Given that, the court concluded that forcing UCAR to give up its supercomputing center was arbitrary and capricious, and thus violated the Administrative Procedures Act.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Bahrain’s interior ministry also sounded warning sirens urging residents to seek shelter.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
-
The league also sent a letter to Jordan signed by 21 members of Congress urging caution with any changes to the broadcasting law.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pressing. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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