STUNTING Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

stunting

verb

present participle of stunt

as in suppressing

to hold back the normal growth of unfortunately, an unusually dry summer seems to have permanently stunted the tree

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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 stunting Even before the floods, malnutrition, child wasting and anaemia rates were high in Nepal, with one in four children nationwide affected by stunting. — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026 And the factors pushing people out of the labor force have implications beyond workers paying for everyday essentials, including stunting career trajectories and impacting long-term retirement savings. — Sarah Jackson jennifer Liu, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2026 Aid agencies warn the Iran war and Nigeria’s inflation could push millions more African children into poverty this year, stunting development and deepening a humanitarian crisis with far-reaching global consequences. — Ope Adetayo, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026 From stunting and weakening plant growth to delaying flower production, these 1/10th-inch-long pests can wreak havoc. — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 12 June 2026 Negotiations were shelved, leading to an impasse and stunting Wilson’s development, who was recovering from keyhole ankle surgery which was worse than first thought. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 10 June 2026 The evidence In addition to animal research, there are a handful of preliminary studies in humans suggesting colostrum may improve certain forms of inflammatory bowel syndrome, gastroenteritis, and upper respiratory tract infections, as well as stunting in children. — Ari Daniel, NPR, 1 June 2026 Sunflowers contain allelopathic compounds in all of their tissues that can impact nearby plants, reducing seed germination and stunting the growth of roots and shoots. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 30 May 2026 The good news is that growing garlic near tomatoes can protect the harvest and keep pests from stunting the growth of your plants. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stunting

Verb

The party is often lauded for steering the tiny nation toward economic prosperity but has also been criticized for suppressing dissent.

— John Liu, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
These could be damming a river, suppressing natural wildfires, or suppressing beaver damage.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of suppressing

Verb

Either the Chiefs or Broncos have won the division for the past 16 seasons, with Denver halting Kansas City’s nine-year streak of division championships last year.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2026
The space agency resumed observations with the telescope late last month after halting them early this year to conserve power.

— Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of halting

Verb

Seemingly, the only thing that could slow down the automobile takeover was diminishing fuel supplies, fear of which had become a fixation of American oil companies and government officials after the Armistice.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
Having already weathered so many attacks aimed at diminishing its power, the remaining Iranian leadership, which learned to tolerate hardship in the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, is unlikely to be cowed by further aggression.

— JAMES F. JEFFREY, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of diminishing

Verb

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis exploited them in their April 2023 meeting, blocking a couple of early left hooks in the Las Vegas fight and waiting for his opportunity.

— Chris McKenna, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
The justices did not give their reasoning for blocking the new map, as is often the case in rulings on its emergency docket.

— Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of blocking

Verb

Republicans edge out Democrats on keeping people safe, crime prevention, and reducing and stopping violent crime.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 10 Sep. 2026
With Doak’s game clock defunct, ESPN peeled off one of its scorebug operators to shadow the officials, starting and stopping the on-screen time by hand, second by second.

— Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of stopping

Verb

Through May, conservative activists had filed 43 anti-DEI shareholder proposals, dwarfing the number of proposals supporting DEI.

— Scott M. Curran, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2026
Paramount has promised to produce 30 movies a year between the two studios, dwarfing the output of any other legacy studio, and to adhere to a longer theatrical window.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of dwarfing

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stunted

stunting

stunts

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“Stunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stunting. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of stunting

verb

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