PRY Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

pry 1 of 2

verb (1)

Definition of pry

as in to pull

to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever it took some effort to pry up the trap door

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

join
connect

as in to yank

to draw out by force or with effort a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

pry

2 of 2

verb (2)

ˈprī

as in to interfere

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern don't go prying into other people's business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pry

Verb

Achane’s replacement scored at the end of the third quarter pulled Miami within a score, making it 12-10 headed into the fourth quarter.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 5 Oct. 2026
Like a matador swirling his cape, Patrick Roden-Reynolds pulled a swatch of white flannel this way and that on the grass and leaf litter in my yard.

— Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of pull

Verb

Zabransky was the first person to reach Rabb in the end zone, yanking him into the air for a bear hug.

— Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 3 Oct. 2026
There’s also an ending that revels in a form of catharsis — for the audience watching the play, not the movie — before yanking that, too, away.

— David Mack, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of yank

Verb

The terms of the restraining order will bar Gupta and his gallery from interfering at all with Longcraft’s interest in the works.

— News Desk, Artforum, 2 Oct. 2026
If a person interferes or one step fails, the system can adjust its plan and retry rather than requiring the entire task to be restarted.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of interfere

Verb

Australia’s central bank lifted its benchmark rate on Tuesday for the fourth time this year, taking it to the highest level in 15 years.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2026
Just as Kessler is expected to lift the Lakers’ offense by pairing with Luka Doncic, the Lakers are equally excited for the influence Kessler can have on defense.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of lift

Verb

Heat is transferred from surrounding rock into the system rather than extracting hot groundwater from underground formations.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
Donica said the gypstacks contain rare earth minerals that could be extracted one day with the proper technology, a proposal that university researchers in the state are actively working on.

— Ryan Ballogg, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of extract

Verb

Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.

— Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of poke

Verb

At their most basic, these may consist of just two elements, such as a stone and a sheet of raw steel—that is, an element plucked from the natural world and one of industrial manufacture.

— Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Rice and Schlittler were both raised among Red Sox fans in Massachusetts and went to college in New England before getting plucked by the Yankees out of Boston’s backyard in baseball’s amateur draft.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of pluck

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.

Browse Nearby Words

prurient

pry

prying

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pry.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pry. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pry

verb (1)

verb (2)

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

regimen

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes