PULLING Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

pulling

verb

present participle of pull

as in hauling

to cause to follow by applying steady force on a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in prying

to draw out by force or with effort the dentist had to struggle to pull the tooth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stretching

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure lift the crate carefully, or you'll pull a muscle

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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 pulling Safe haven demand temporarily outweighed inflation fears, prompting capital to exit risk assets and flow into the Treasury market, thereby pulling yields lower. — CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 Through July, O’Hare held a cash advantage of $707,000 to Simmons’s $67,000, with his campaign pulling $135,000 from oil and gas companies alone. — Rachel Royster. Produced With Ai Assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026 Seattle mounted a fierce fourth-quarter comeback, pulling within 14-11 on a George Holani touchdown and a two-point conversion pass from Darnold to Rashid Shaheed. — Alejandro Avila Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Publicly, Fox News joined the rest of the media in pulling its coverage from the White House press pool. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026 With the United States pulling back, a new bargain in which Europe carries more of the nuclear burden and has more say in the choice to use these weapons is the only way to ensure transatlantic security. — Ivo H. Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026 Priyanka Chopra Jonas tried out a unique hybrid shoe on Thursday, pulling a collaborative Matières Fécales x Christian Louboutin style straight from spring 2027 Paris Fashion Week. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2026 Dell’s Data Orchestration engine already does the heavy lifting there, documents, images, video, PDFs, pulling that content into AI-ready pipelines. — Osman Koc, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Instead of pulling back altogether, consumers are changing their shopping habits by trading down to lower-price brands and stores, shopping earlier and relying more on credit cards and buy now pay later plans, Eshelman said. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling

Verb

To protect the boardwalk and the homes there, the city has been hauling sand from the west end of the beach to the east to create a buffer between the ocean and the shore.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
For now, Starship's most immediate role is hauling Starlink satellites in orbit.

— Andrew Jones, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of hauling

Verb

Or two birds face-to-face in close proximity, covering themselves with their wings as if to share a secret kiss away from prying eyes, could evoke a giggle.

— Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Davidson was thrust into a reality-TV world of prying paparazzi and untold media scrutiny.

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of prying

Verb

Enter the extrait de parfum, a fragrance with concentration beginning at around 20 percent and stretching as high as 60 percent in some cases, versus typically 15 to 20 percent for an eau de parfum.

— Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
The Fantasy Bra has a long history, stretching back 30 years.

— Max Berlinger, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of stretching

Verb

Count seats against your guest list, then throw down floor cushions or a blanket pile instead of dragging in extra chairs.

— Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Plus, because most wide-legs have longer inseams, a low heel prevents them from dragging on the ground.

— Eva Thomas, InStyle, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

Like so many Americans, Jenny Escolastico has watched wearily as the cost of living has risen, straining her household budget.

— Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
The payoff is a system that can handle more energy without straining the rest of the time.

— Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of straining

Verb

Sitting in a boat, tugging their house behind them, the journey initially appears to be going smoothly.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
The sweet gallery opens with Rocki tugging at a large wig placed on her head as Rihanna can be heard laughing in the background.

— Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of tugging

Verb

In the Johnson administration, that has taken a back seat to extracting cash from those deemed by these redistributionists as having too much of it.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
For supporters, the proposal represents an emergency fiscal response aimed at temporarily extracting revenue from unprecedented concentrations of wealth.

— Trevor Laurence Jockims, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of extracting

Browse Nearby Words

pull in

pulling

pulling a face

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Style

“Pulling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of pulling

verb

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