TARGETING Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

targeting

verb

present participle of target

as in harassing

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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 targeting Taylor, a fluid 6-foot-5, is already the Jets’ second-best receiver and plays with a quarterback, Justin Fields, who is prone to targeting tight ends — fifth-highest tight end target rate since 2021, and Cole Kmet had a career-high 719 yards with Fields as his quarterback in 2023. — Jacob Robinson, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for targeting

Verb

With navies built around corvette-class-sized ships, Finland and Sweden have successfully stood up to Russian pressure, harassing Russian submarines that have violated their territorial seas.

— HOLMES LIAO, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
He was inspired by the true story of Freda and Greta Chaplin, who in the 1980s stirred up a media frenzy for harassing a truck driver, and for bizarrely mirroring each other.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of harassing

Verb

The big house sat clear, taunting their one‑room shack with its size, her children somewhere swallowed in the expansiveness of the land.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Cunningham’s highlights are hard fouls, a few 3-pointers, taunting, serving as a ring girl at a UFC fight, her sense of humor, and now commentary that has a Fox flair.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of taunting

Verb

Superwedding now past, Taylor Swift’s husband, TE Travis Kelce, can get back to tormenting NFL defenses for a few more seasons.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
Aside from tormenting the sole out transgender member of Congress by waging a campaign to bar her from using the women’s bathroom in the Capitol, Mace had been a side player that year.

— Annie Karni, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of tormenting

Verb

Children became the sales force, pestering their parents for the latest product.

— Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
In the clip shared on social media, the bird appears poised to go after a second player before veering off at the last moment, then continues pestering several others on the field until the referee is forced to pause the game.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of pestering

Verb

The full trailer — teasing what’s to come in episodes 1-8 — is out and totally re-watchable.

— Lindsay Kimble, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
After years spent teasing a legally impossible third term, Trump is now describing life after January 2029, picturing himself at home as a successor claims credit.

— Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of teasing

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targeted

targeting

targets

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Style

“Targeting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/targeting. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of targeting

verb

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