stewing 1 of 2

adjective

as in fretting

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

stewing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stew
1
as in boiling
to cook in a liquid heated to the point that it gives off steam stew the chicken till tender, and then remove the meat from the bones

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in worrying
to experience concern or anxiety stop stewing over that game and just try to do better next time

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 stewing
Verb
Idda takes an epic approach to unearthing the packed layers of a stewing friendship. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 21 July 2026 Roasting, stewing, baking—those are all great ways to make okra. — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 13 July 2026 This idea’s been stewing in my brain ever since. — Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 9 June 2026 Something about her kept stewing in my head. — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 1 June 2026 The Detroit Red Wings sat on the bench, stewing in stunned silence, after their latest loss sealed their fate as a franchise relegated to watching the NHL playoffs on TV. — CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026 The tomatoes for the shakshouka have been stewing for hours. — Liam Scott, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2026 But South Carolina’s returners have spent a year stewing on that championship loss, specifically on UConn’s 23-point margin of victory. — Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2026 Hughes spent weeks stewing before calling director Howie Deutsch with the solution. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stewing
  1. fretful
  2. boiling
  3. worrying
  4. vexed
  5. simmering
  6. fretting
Adjective
  • The game, like most finals, was a fretful affair, played under a brain-altering gaze.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 20 July 2026
  • The fretful electronic score is by Flying Lotus, Elliot Leung and Olivia Xiaolin.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Definition of fretful
Verb
  • Just boiling things down to that, and to the voice and the lip sync is painstaking.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Generally, boiling frozen corn anywhere from eight to 10 minutes is enough for the kernels to turn bright yellow and plump.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of boiling
Verb
  • While the sports industrial complex has largely been immune from America’s trust crisis, new concerns over betting’s influence on game integrity are not only worrying fans like Brannock, but also league officials.
    — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
  • McCarthy reunited with Aaron Rodgers, his old Super Bowl quarterback, and Harbaugh inherited Jaxson Dart as the Giants’ established young starter and spent August worrying more about protecting him than replacing him.
    — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of worrying
Adjective
  • How to do that was a very vexed and complicated problem.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
  • From his perspective, whatever happened was easily resolved — but working on a megahit can make matters more vexed.
    — Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 10 June 2026
Definition of vexed
Verb
  • In the end, however, Mitić’s intrepid approach is undeniably bracing, and held together at its core by Kostić’s simmering performance.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Their simmering chemistry carries the narrative through war, hardship, romance and tragedy, set to the now-beloved score by Maurice Jarre.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of simmering
Verb
  • Republican leadership was, once again, fretting over whether frustrations among some hardline conservatives would effectively freeze the legislative agenda.
    — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Across the developed world, central bankers are fretting over the same issues.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of fretting

Browse Nearby Words

stewed
stewing
stews
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Stewing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stewing. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of inexorable

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All