as in extraordinary
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1
as in exceeding
to be greater, better, or stronger than
she always tried to surpass her older brother at anything he did
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in transcending
to go beyond the limit of
the sales of the band's newest CD have surpassed the combined sales of its last two albums
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Recent Examples of surpassing
James Peckham, PC Magazine, 13 Apr. 2026
This charming town on Lake Michigan has emerged as a surprising luxury hotspot, with 53 percent of listings now surpassing $1 million.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2026
During the mission, the Artemis II crew set a record for farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, surpassing the record of 248,655 miles previously set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970, according to NASA.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
He's commuted for nearly four years, but recently the spikes of gas have increased, surpassing his monthly budget.
—Kara St. Cyr, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026
Kenzel Lantano dished out 36 assists and tallied 12 digs (surpassing 500 career digs), an ace and a block as Lynn Classical (5-0) bested Malden 3-1 in the Greater Boston League.
—Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Since October, 23 people have died in ICE custody, already surpassing the total for the prior fiscal year and now on pace to be the deadliest period in two decades.
—Erwin Chemerinsky, Twin Cities, 8 Apr. 2026
Three months after the Prescott deal, Juan Soto agreed to the biggest-ever contract in MLB, signing a 15-year deal worth a staggering $765m with the New York Mets, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700m deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers announced in late 2023.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Her season total for points was the fifth-best in program history, surpassing Sophie Cunningham’s 2018-19 mark.
—Aaron Segal, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2026
Verb
Microsoft celebrated the app surpassing 10 million downloads in 2024.
—James Peckham, PC Magazine, 13 Apr. 2026
This charming town on Lake Michigan has emerged as a surprising luxury hotspot, with 53 percent of listings now surpassing $1 million.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 11 Apr. 2026
During the mission, the Artemis II crew set a record for farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth, surpassing the record of 248,655 miles previously set by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970, according to NASA.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
He's commuted for nearly four years, but recently the spikes of gas have increased, surpassing his monthly budget.
—Kara St. Cyr, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2026
Kenzel Lantano dished out 36 assists and tallied 12 digs (surpassing 500 career digs), an ace and a block as Lynn Classical (5-0) bested Malden 3-1 in the Greater Boston League.
—Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Since October, 23 people have died in ICE custody, already surpassing the total for the prior fiscal year and now on pace to be the deadliest period in two decades.
—Erwin Chemerinsky, Twin Cities, 8 Apr. 2026
Three months after the Prescott deal, Juan Soto agreed to the biggest-ever contract in MLB, signing a 15-year deal worth a staggering $765m with the New York Mets, surpassing Shohei Ohtani’s $700m deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers announced in late 2023.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Her season total for points was the fifth-best in program history, surpassing Sophie Cunningham’s 2018-19 mark.
—Aaron Segal, Kansas City Star, 4 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surpassing
Adjective
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The extraordinary review of a media outlet’s coverage, revealed in emails obtained by The Star, is unheard of in Kansas City politics, according to one former mayor.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
7 Apr. 2026
-
My father had lived an extraordinary life as a young Black man born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, during the 1940s.—
Shayla Martin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The International Commerce Center, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), was also supposed to rise even taller than its 1,588 feet, but laws forbade it from exceeding the height of the surrounding mountains.—
Nathalie Nietzsche-Knappe,
Architectural Digest,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The systems operated successfully in the stratosphere at altitudes exceeding 14 miles (23 kms), where pressure is extremely low and temperatures can drop significantly.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Although based on the Sanskrit Ramayana attributed to Valmiki, Tulsidas’s work is a theological reenvisioning in which Rama appears throughout as the supreme god rather than as a heroic human figure.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Demonstrators gather under a portrait of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran on Thursday.—
Katherine Doyle,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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On their record-breaking flyby, the astronauts reached a maximum 252,756 miles from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, eclipsing Apollo 13‘s distance record.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
-
When our own planet was eclipsing the sun, at least from the Artemis capsule’s point of view, the astronauts saw the agave-green milky glow of the solar atmosphere and its dust, visible around the moon.—
Rebecca Boyle,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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This superlative coat can feature more than 155,000 hairs per square centimeter (about 1,000,000 hairs per square inch), roughly 10 times as many hairs as the coats of most cats.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 Apr. 2026
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Leo Carlsson, center, A- Carlsson had a superlative start to the season, looking every bit the equal of his most prominent peers like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini in the first two months of 2025-26.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Haotong Li of China shot 69 and was four behind, still mystified by topping a fairway metal that raced into the pond in front of the 15th green.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
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Gas prices have surged more than 30% since the United States and Israel launched their military campaign, with the national average now topping $4 per gallon, according to AAA.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That's all well and good, and that's a huge part of the learning process.—
Bryant Reed,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Milton, a Whichita State signee, played a huge role in what was arguably North Crowley girls basketball’s best season.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Shuttle services have been arranged to transport journalists between the media center and a hotel in the city’s main shopping mall.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
But the leak appeared to get worse when the service module fired its main engine for the translunar injection burn on Day 2 of the flight, according to Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Surpassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surpassing. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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