PULLS Synonyms: 178 Similar and Opposite Words

pulls 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pull

as in hauls

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in yanks

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stretches

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

pulls

2 of 2

noun

plural of pull

as in tugs

the act or an instance of applying force on something so that it moves in the direction of the force I gave the door such a pull that when it suddenly opened, I nearly fell backwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sways

the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly their lawyer supposedly has a lot of pull with the administration in Washington

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in edges

the more favorable condition or position in a competition a political candidate with all of the pull that comes with a vast fortune and famous surname

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 pulls

Verb

As the motor pulls the tendons, the tail bends into an S-shape, creating the side-to-side motion that quietly moves the whole device forward. — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 8 Sep. 2026 Each summer, the Premier League’s financial power pulls further and further away from what the rest of Europe’s leagues can muster. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026 The film pulls an Old Custer and presupposes that maybe Monroe didn’t die at the age of 36, juxtaposing a 100-year-old Marilyn with one in her 30s played by Johnson. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026 The food menu pulls from the room service menu, but the cocktails are exclusively their own and magnificent. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026 Studios build best picture runs around a face and a narrative, and Focus is betting that a breakout turn is the engine that pulls the rest of the slate into the race. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026 One of these women is a Stanford chemist whose fertilizer pulls carbon out of the sky. — Lisa Curtis, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 The look also pulls from indie sleaze, which Trendalytics reports is up 80% in social buzz, reinforcing the messy, early-2000s finish that defines the trend. — Ashley Lynch, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026 In the book, when Hig tries to land there, a trip wire almost snags the Cessna and pulls them down to their deaths in a crash. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026

Noun

These tokens fell sharply in the days after their debuts and quickly drew accusations of being rug pulls, a crypto term for projects in which insiders abruptly sell large holdings, leaving other investors with steep losses. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026 The pulls of our star and planet equal the centripetal force needed for a smaller object to stay in place. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 Clean the Hardware Before cleaning the handles, knobs, or drawer pulls, consider the hardware material. — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 1 Sep. 2026 Because knobs and pulls are handled frequently, clean and degrease them thoroughly before painting. — Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Aug. 2026 On Monday, the Fantasy 5 pulls will be joined by the Powerball drawing, worth an $81 million jackpot. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026 Sadayuki Murai’s twisty script constantly upends our understanding of the film’s reality, resulting in what might be a record-breaking number of rug pulls. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026 Io is repeatedly squeezed and stretched by Jupiter and the gravitational pulls of neighboring moons Europa and Ganymede. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Aug. 2026 The exquisite scenery is also one of the show’s biggest pulls. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulls

Verb

Nevertheless, 2022’s Scream, revs the engine of the Scream 4, then hauls it in overdrive when more murderous mayhem storms through Woodsboro.

— Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026
And just a few miles away, the popular Mount Washington Cog Railway hauls visitors to the summit of the property’s namesake, and the highest peak in the Northeast at nearly 6,300 feet.

— Erik Matuszewski, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of hauls

Verb

Johnson yanks veterans' benefits package An effort to advance a package of VA benefits bills this morning on the House floor went down in flames – the latest in Speaker Mike Johnson's struggle to get Republicans on the same page.

— Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 16 July 2026
Like a false note on an out-of-tune piano, a clunky verb, a sentence without rhythm, yanks the reader out the flow of the work.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 May 2026

Definition of yanks

Verb

Although the first topological ideas only emerged in the 18th century, the history of the Platonic solids stretches back much further.

— Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2026
As Sean McVay enters his 10th season, his coaching tree stretches across the NFL, with former Rams assistants now leading the Packers, Bengals, Vikings, Jaguars and Cardinals as head coaches.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of stretches

Noun

The European Investment Bank (EIB) estimates that roughly 200 wrecks, including warships, barges, tugs, and cargo vessels, remain scattered across a five-kilometer stretch of the river near Prahovo.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
Momentus’ spacecraft can also serve as space tugs to ferry smaller satellites or experiments from one orbit to another.

— Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026

Definition of tugs

Noun

Expect fresh, modern cuisine that melds local and international influences.

— Laura Itzkowitz, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
There are the famed Urfa chiles of the country’s southeast, the seafood, greens and corn in the north that edge the Black Sea, and the grand amalgam of influences in Istanbul.

— Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of influences

Noun

Democratic socialists were largely confined to the outer edges of political discourse.

— Steven Sloan, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
In the 1-out-of-n case, for example, solutions can be described as loops drawn on the edges of an n-dimensional cube that pass through every corner.

— Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of edges

Verb

Burkhart added that if the trade war drags on, businesses will face far greater risks and consumers — already facing difficulties keeping up with inflation and higher fuel prices — will face a greater challenge with the cost of living.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 3 Sep. 2026
The move drags romance into spaces once reserved for a workout or a self-care Sunday.

— Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of drags

Verb

By fields of cotton and soybeans where his bees forage and pollinate, Foster Hensel pries open the lid of one of his beehives, setting off a rising hum from inside.

— Drew Hawkins, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
Remove the 11 Philips-head screws on the bottom of the laptop, and its bottom pries up with a bit of pressure.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026