Synonyms of pulling

pulling

verb

present participle of pull

1

as in hauling

to cause to follow by applying steady force on

a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hauling
• dragging
• tugging
• towing
• drawing
• lugging
• carrying
• heaving
• yanking
• attracting
• haling
• moving
• jerking
• transporting
• conveying
• ferrying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pushing
• driving
• propelling
• shoving
• thrusting

2

as in prying

to draw out by force or with effort

the dentist had to struggle to pull the tooth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prying
• yanking
• extracting
• plucking
• removing
• uprooting
• tearing (out)
• taking (out)
• wringing
• corkscrewing
• rooting (out)
• wresting
• withdrawing
• prizing
• mining

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inserting
• installing
• instilling
• stuffing
• implanting
• jamming
• wedging
• ramming
• cramming

3

as in stretching

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure

lift the crate carefully, or you'll pull a muscle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stretching
• straining
• damaging
• hurting
• weakening
• bruising
• racking
• wrenching
• tearing
• taxing
• impairing
• battering
• harming
• wounding
• crippling
• fraying
• mutilating
• mangling
• laming

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of pulling

According to a second set of arrest papers, she's also accused of pulling the same scam on others, amounting to nearly half a million dollars total. — Ashley Portillo, CBS News, 18 Sep. 2026

Remove any bones by pulling them at a 45 degree angle toward the head with clean tweezers. — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2026

Later, the Sagittarius Moon squares the Virgo Sun, pulling us between possibility and practicality. — Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Biller claims to be pulling from films like The Virgin Spring, Ugetsu, Kurosawa’s Ran and Visconti’s The Innocent while failing to match their emotional weight. — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026

The locomotive pulling three tanker cars will support firefighting operations, Cal Fire said. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026

My father would rinse the rice over and over, sifting it between his fingertips, searching for the impurities, pulling them out. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026

Havertz pulling to the right, combined with the snappier passing of Rice, is what brought their equaliser. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Texas Christian University has changed its position and decided to reinstate press credentials for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram after pulling them last week, just days before the team got their season underway. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026