stretched 1 of 2

stretched

2 of 2

verb

past tense of stretch
1
2
as in pulled
to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure I stretched a back muscle, and the pain is killing me

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in lengthened
to make longer the time it would take to fix the car got stretched from three hours to two days when the part we needed had to be ordered

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
5
as in tightened
to draw tight if the canvas isn't properly stretched over the frame, there will be sagging over 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 stretched
Adjective
This feed-in jumbo braid updo on Teyonah Parris is achieved by adding a lot of pre-stretched braiding hair when creating the cornrows. Omenaa Boakye, InStyle, 19 July 2026 But the case shapes alone tell you Samsung isn’t treating the Wide as a stretched version of the Ultra. Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026 Wiley often wears her hair in a stretched state, combing through her gray coils with a blow dryer before doing a braid-out. Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 29 May 2026 Once activated, the Fe-SMA bars aim to shrink back to their pre-stretched shape. Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 19 Feb. 2026 It’s formulated with calcium to promote new cell growth, adenosine to fill in wrinkles, collagen to maintain your skin’s density and thickness, elastin to restore stretched skin, and Vitamin D for rejuvenation. Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2026 America’s health care system is straining under the twin pressures of an aging population and a stretched pool of health care providers. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
Hull also played with a back five, where the wing-backs stretched the width of the pitch to then put dangerous crosses into the box. Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 At the crime scene, red and yellow police tape was seen stretched across Fulton Street. Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026 By 2004, that barren spell had stretched to a staggering 86 years, reinforcing the idea that Boston was somehow cursed - a notion that had become part of baseball folklore. Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026 Scientists may have uncovered evidence of a colossal ancient cliff that stretched across much of North America and helped expose rocks now visible deep inside the Grand Canyon hundreds of millions of years before the modern canyon formed. Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026 The strikes have stretched from the European part of Russia to Yekaterinburg, over 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) from Ukraine's border. ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026 Their eighth straight win, over the White Sox, had been a thirteen-inning game that stretched on for more than four hours, in which the Red Sox hadn’t held a lead until the four-hundred-and-forty-third pitch—which turned out to be the game’s last. Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026 The conversations between the two have stretched beyond route-running. Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 16 Aug. 2026 The great convergence could very well continue, but until then, the gap between paper wealth and the real economy is stretched further than ever before. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stretched
Adjective
  • The ex-couple were again spotted together the following year at the funeral for Panettiere’s brother, Jansen, who died from an enlarged heart in February 2023.
    Emma Banks, PEOPLE, 20 Aug. 2026
  • All3MI boss Louise Pedersen left, with Banijay Rights CEO Cathy Payne running the enlarged business.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The real Tyrone might not have understood why Bourdain exaggerated the story, but Johnson seems to.
    Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Hair loss from shock was one that occurred and exaggerated his past concerns about his hairline.
    Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 16 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The Yankees pulled within four games of AL East-leading Tampa Bay.
    CBS News, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Our first meeting was a Zoom call, and Jordan had pulled stills from 10 or 12 fashion shows from between 1979 and 1982, just as a starting point for discussion.
    Laurie Brookins, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Like a single on the old-skool charts, Sean Combs‘ prison time keeps moving up and down, with the Bad Boy Records founder’s stint behind bars lengthened again.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Originally built for Seabourn in the 1990s, this older ship was purchased by Windstar in 2015 and refurbished and lengthened in 2020.
    Erica Silverstein, Travel + Leisure, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • One deputy tried to use a taser to get the dog to stop, but to no avail.
    Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The fire raged for most of the morning as firefighters tried their best to fight back the flames.
    Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Since his original conviction, the law has been tightened to allow sentences of up to five years for forgery, said Marseglia.
    Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The format was long — some might say tedious — and tightened ever so minimally as Davis aged.
    Shirley Halperin, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • The three belugas that traveled to San Diego on Saturday were each placed on padded stretchers that featured small holes for their pectoral fins.
    Lori Weisberg, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026
  • First-round defensive tackle Peter Woods impressed in the first padded practice, splitting reps against Trey Smith and getting the better of backup interior linemen, Sweeney wrote from Day 5.
    Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • And, as pointed out by DC bar news website Barred In DC, alcohol sales on the National Mall have extended well past Freedom 250 events.
    Mike Stunson, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Due to the number of comments and requests from community members, the air district extended the period twice to allow for additional public input.
    Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Stretched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stretched. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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