STRADDLING Synonyms: 155 Similar and Opposite Words

straddling 1 of 2

noun

as in fence-sitting

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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.

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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.

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as in shaking

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

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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

As the camera zooms out, the actress is revealed to be nude straddling a basketball hoop while spinning a ball on her finger like a Harlem Globetrotter. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026 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

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

Giroux and actress-producer Pirvu officially launched Precious Metal Productions last January with a focus on television movies and feature films with its activities spanning original content creation as well as full-service production.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Think ruffles, shoulders, polka dots, flowers, glamour, flowers and plenty of joyful clothes and accessories spanning lifestyle and occasionwear.

— Emily Mercer, Footwear News, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of spanning

Verb

Something about this bone-shaking noise keeps hitting us right in the darkest places of the soul.

— Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2026
Airborne at one point during testing, Silva reportedly inched out on the helicopter's right skid — with no safety belt — to investigate the cause of intense vibrations shaking the cockpit, according to a 2009 interview with Smithsonian Magazine.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of shaking

Noun

At the same time, there will be no tolerance for violence or destruction of property.

— Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
Finance leaders can approach the issue differently by starting with loss severity, frequency, liquidity, capital availability and risk tolerance.

— Randy Sadler, Forbes.com, 15 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