punctuating

verb

present participle of punctuate
as in emphasizing
to indicate the importance of by centering attention on punctuated each and every word of his denial with a pound of his fist on the table

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 punctuating Our Revolution endorsed Jackson in the Senate race by Tuesday afternoon, punctuating its support with a call for urgency. — David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 7 July 2026 Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo feasted off low crosses to each score twice, punctuating this as the World Cup of cutbacks. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 7 July 2026 Hernandez and the stadium reacted in pure joy, Hernandez’s bat flip punctuating it. — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 4 July 2026 Silva, meanwhile, stunned in a matching halter dress, punctuating her bridal look with a chunky Elsa Peretti cuff. — Hannah Malach, InStyle, 1 July 2026 Fresh-faced and energetic, with salt-and-pepper curls falling over the shoulders of her moss-green sweater and gold jewelry punctuating her gestures, Brock Akil is youthful in a way that defies Hollywood’s ever-more-plasticky imitation of youth. — Judy Berman, Time, 29 June 2026 Jalon Daniels launched a deep throw to veteran David Sills in the back of the end zone Wednesday, punctuating a 7-on-7 period with a touchdown. — Rick Stroud, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2026 Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026 Munden injected tension and something even more primal and powerful than tension by punctuating Ralph’s efforts to navigate the island with stills of trees. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punctuating
  1. emphasizing
  2. highlighting
  3. stressing
  4. featuring
Verb
  • The question definitively answered here is whether more schools should be emphasizing project learning over rote memorization and teaching to the test.
    — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • Companies must also encourage responsible experimentation, allowing employees to explore AI's potential, and critically, address fears about job displacement or misuse through open dialogue, emphasizing unique human skills.
    — Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of emphasizing
Verb
  • For instance, Airbus alone ended 2025 with a backlog of 8,754 commercial aircraft, highlighting just how far demand has outpaced production capacity.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 5 July 2026
  • Following meetings with management, RBC Capital analyst Gregory Pardy reaffirmed a buy rating on Ovintiv stock with a price target of $70, highlighting that the stock is on RBC's Global Energy Best Ideas List.
    — Tipranks.com Staff, CNBC, 5 July 2026
Definition of highlighting
Verb
  • Baking soda desiccates plant leaves by removing moisture from the foliage, stressing the plant and ultimately resulting in death.
    — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 4 July 2026
  • Richard Fawal of Voxtopica developed a framework to guide these organizations, stressing the importance of understanding audience behavior and creating engaging content, rather than merely repurposing existing materials.
    — Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of stressing
Verb
  • Lightweight and featuring multiple pockets, the pants are comfortable and practical, also offering a partially elastic waistband and an adjustable bottom hem.
    — Caroline Hughes, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2026
  • Welcome to the Daily Open newsletter, a special edition featuring a dispatch from CNBC Presenter Steve Sedgwick in Ankara, Turkey, on the contentious NATO Summit.
    — Steve Sedgwick,Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 8 July 2026
Definition of featuring

Browse Nearby Words

punctuates
punctuating
puncture
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Punctuating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punctuating. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on punctuating

Nglish: Translation of punctuating for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All