STRADDLING Synonyms: 155 Similar and Opposite Words

straddling 1 of 2

noun

as in fence-sitting

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

straddling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of straddle

as in perching

to be in or move into a seated or standing position with your legs on either side of (something) She straddled the horse and waited for her riding partner to mount.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

as in spanning

to be on both sides of (something) The town straddles the river. The movie straddles the line between comedy and drama.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

as in shaking

to agree with or seem to agree with two opposite sides of (something) The politician straddled the issue for weeks.

Related Words

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 straddling

Verb

This town sits in the Central Idaho Rockies, straddling national forests in the Wood River Valley. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026 Back on ground level, The Patio is a more relaxed bar straddling the entrance of the restaurant. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Aug. 2026 An example is the rare Enantio, from the mountainous region straddling Veneto and Trentino. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 14 Aug. 2026 In the world of traffic oddities, one car straddling a bike path median — like a gymnast poised on a balance beam — could be called a fluke. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026 Mythical creatures, too, soaked in the supernatural; half-men, half-animals who evaded classification—centaurs and satyrs, fauns and werewolves—straddling the boundary between man and beast. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026 It’s situated in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness north of Yellowstone National Park straddling the Montana-Wyoming border. — Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 29 July 2026 At her white adoptive family’s estate, Thina (26), a Black surgeon straddling two worlds, prepares for her wedding with a woke Black fiancé and her white adoptive sister – her best friend. — John Hopewell, Variety, 14 July 2026 Since graduating from the YA fantasy series, Pattinson has become one of our most interesting actors, straddling the space between indie and mainstream filmmaking. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddling

Noun

Keeping four quarterbacks could be seen as another fence-sitting move.

— Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Lower mortgage rates will spur some fence-sitting buyers into action and increase sales volumes over last year.

— Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2026

Definition of fence-sitting

Verb

Autonomous mission capabilities, spanning software stacks, hardware platforms CPE Mission Autonomy was established to accelerate Army acquisition of autonomous mission capabilities, spanning software stacks, hardware platforms, and modular payloads.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Over the course of the past two decades, some of the most popular athletes on the planet have established similar businesses to service their creative ambitions, spanning documentaries, TV shows, feature films, podcasts and across multiple genres.

— Justin Birnbaum, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of spanning

Verb

The chance to honor her legacy made for a poignant coincidence for an evening devoted to female power, and a reminder that, however much has changed since Steinem first began shaking things up, there is still plenty to do.

— Tiziana Cardini, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
That doesn’t make their hooting, teeth-baring, chest-beating, or branch-shaking any less of an act of communication.

— Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of shaking

Noun

Test your tolerance with just one or two pieces before eating a larger portion, since sensitivity varies from person to person.

— Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 6 Sep. 2026
Those include superconducting performance, radiation tolerance, and long-term engineering reliability.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of tolerance

Verb

Water could exist beneath a chokingly thick atmosphere, as high-pressure ice, or sitting above an inhospitable interior.

— Alix Freckelton, Space.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Upstairs, the entirety of the tiny cottage is the apartment’s primary suite, surrounded by outdoor space, including a sitting area with its own wood-burning fireplace.

— Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of sitting

Verb

The style features dazzling dainty straps intersecting across the toes and an ankle strap adorned with lemon and leaf ornaments.

— Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026
That innovation is also intersecting with the growth of artificial intelligence capabilities, according to Hendrik Venter, CEO of DHL Supply Chain.

— Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 25 July 2026