returning

verb

present participle of return
1
as in restoring
to bring, send, or put back to a former or proper place when I'm done reading a book, I always return it to the very shelf I got it from

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in yielding
to produce as revenue this technology stock is expected to return a healthy profit

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in responding
to speak or write in reaction to a question or to another reaction when I asked him to sit down to dinner, he returned that he would come when he was good and ready

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in reverting
to go back to a previous and usually lower state or level vowed to do anything to keep the recovering alcoholic from returning to his dissolute ways

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 returning With Isak returning late from the World Cup and Hugo Ekitike injured, Danns has the ideal opportunity to put himself in Iraola’s thoughts. — Andy Jones, New York Times, 14 July 2026 Fox has announced a slate of fall premiere dates for returning favorites, breakout hits, game shows and more. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 14 July 2026 Two of the Starlink mockups carried cameras for external imaging on the last Starship mission, returning views of the ship set against the ghostly darkness of space. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 14 July 2026 Those figures help explain why the house is returning so quickly to memorabilia. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 July 2026 Going three-for-10 from the field with nine points and multiple out-of-control drives to the rim, Thiero did not look like the returning NBA player on the Lakers’ summer league roster. — Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026 Juan’s mother had lived without insurance before Obamacare, and Juan saw those days returning. — Jack Herrera, New Yorker, 14 July 2026 In addition to the returning characters, Wicked Wonderland introduces several others. — Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 14 July 2026 As a result, the bank remains well-positioned with the capital needed to invest in the business while returning cash to shareholders. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 14 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for returning
  1. restoring
  2. yielding
  3. responding
  4. reverting
  5. paying
  6. replying
  7. giving
  8. answering
Verb
  • In the 30-minute History channel special Ralph Lauren’s American Icons, premiering July 4, viewers learn more about Lauren’s role in restoring and preserving the Star-Spangled Banner.
    — Lizzie Hyman, PEOPLE, 4 July 2026
  • Ultimately, the goal is for the pair to travel thousands of miles west as part of a program working toward restoring Guam kingfishers in the wild.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of restoring
Verb
  • Weather systems can then wring that moisture out like a water-laden sponge, yielding heavy and often highly localized downpours.
    — Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 13 July 2026
  • Consider pairing yielding fruits like nectarines with crisper specimens like apples, even softer fruits like bananas or cherimoya or crunchier additions like passionfruit pulp or shreds of coconut.
    — Cooking Editor, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Definition of yielding
Verb
  • The responding officers rendered first aid to the victims before they were taken to local hospitals.
    — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • Police responding to the 2200 block of Oliver Street found one woman dead; eight adults were treated for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, the Fort Wayne Police Department said.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 5 July 2026
Definition of responding
Verb
  • Such plans would include reverting individual sailings or bringing the whole service back to the Cape of Good Hope route used since the start of the Red Sea crisis in late 2023.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 8 July 2026
  • At least Mercedes is reverting back to screwing things together rather than gluing things in a back-to-basics manufacturing push.
    — Joel Feder, The Drive, 11 June 2026
Definition of reverting
Verb
  • Rather than paying the Cuban government agency that runs medical missions, Calabria signed individual contracts with the doctors and makes deposits in their Italian bank accounts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • The Justice Department unveiled this case against it, essentially arguing that SPLC had been defrauding its donors by paying informants within far-right groups who were infiltrating those groups.
    — Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
Definition of paying
Verb
  • Identifier), in the process of replying to the read requests, at some point the SMB server should never respond to the read request but keep the connection alive.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 9 July 2026
  • When in doubt, contact the Settlement Administrator through the official settlement website rather than replying to an email that showed up in your inbox.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
Definition of replying
Verb
  • With the crack of the ball against his bat, Tommy Edman scored from third, giving the Dodgers the lead.
    — Liana Handler, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
  • Another challenge is that the EV segment relies heavily on rare earths imported from China, giving Indian two-wheeler makers little control over supply and pricing.
    — Anu Raghunathan, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of giving
Verb
  • Kayyalha said magnetic topological insulators offer a flexible platform for answering fundamental questions about quantum transport and topology.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026
  • Naturally, Cashman spoke in generalities when answering some of those questions.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 July 2026
Definition of answering

Browse Nearby Words

returned
returning
returns
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Returning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/returning. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on returning

Nglish: Translation of returning 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

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

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
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

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

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
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