taxing 1 of 2

adjective

ˈtak-siŋ How to pronounce taxing (audio)
Definition of taxingnext
as in challenging
requiring much time, effort, or careful attention a very taxing workload that is taking a lot of time to finish

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

taxing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of tax
as in stretching
to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress your constant arguing is starting to tax my patience

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 taxing
Adjective
This is supposed to be a fun, quick, non-taxing race. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026 The mid-series break should benefit both of them after a taxing two games. — Peter Baugh, New York Times, 6 May 2026
Verb
The program targets 2023 property tax payments and promises direct relief, using money that has already been distributed to and spent by taxing districts including Jackson County cities, schools and libraries. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026 This is not a problem that can be solved by simply taxing the rich or burying the federal government much deeper in debt. — Jessica Riedl, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for taxing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taxing
  1. challenging
  2. stretching
  3. demanding
  4. trying
  5. difficult
  6. straining
  7. pushing
  8. testing
Adjective
  • These renovations have made Bliss Matcha & Beyond’s move less challenging, according to Gorski.
    — Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2026
  • Ahead of a challenging midterm election, Republicans have seized an opportunity to castigate their opponents as extremists after democratic socialists won recent Democratic congressional primaries in New York and Colorado.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 July 2026
Definition of challenging
Verb
  • In the eastern Indian Ocean, south of Java in the vast sea stretching toward Australia, a fishing vessel slightly alters its course while operating near the boundary of its authorized fishing ground.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2026
  • Native to waters stretching from Russia's Sakhalin Islands through Japan and southern China, Manila clams have spread around the world through both accidental and intentional introductions.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 15 July 2026
Definition of stretching
Adjective
  • Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson star as two young men who sign up for a physically demanding and deathly competition led by Mark Hamill’s Major.
    — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 10 July 2026
  • The leading Chinese models still trail the frontier on the most demanding reasoning work, a gap this publication walked through when DeepSeek cut prices in April.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of demanding
Verb
  • Those rooms are tricky and repeatedly trip up the players who are actually trying to win.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 July 2026
  • There is no point in trying to shame him into being different.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of trying
Adjective
  • Her protectiveness of the island stretches back years, in part because Nantucket saved her, in a way, during a difficult time in her life.
    — Wendy Naugle, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • In the book, Hollis asks Gigi to stay after a difficult conversation about the affair.
    — Max Gao, Variety, 11 July 2026
Definition of difficult
Verb
  • Analysts warned that the protests also risk straining South Africa’s security sector — which may further dampen business sentiment — considering the deployment required to prevent last week’s demonstrations from spiralling.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 10 July 2026
  • Rising rents and increasingly expensive grocery runs are straining budgets nationwide.
    — Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 9 July 2026
Definition of straining
Verb
  • The former youth pastor suspected of pushing his wife off a Utah cliff died by suicide in a very unusual way, said the sheriff who oversees Las Vegas’ jails.
    — Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 16 July 2026
  • As a car speeds up, the air resistance pushing against it increases and forces the engine to work harder, using more fuel to achieve the same speed.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 16 July 2026
Definition of pushing
Verb
  • SpaceX’s goals for Flight 13 of Starship include testing several changes intended to overcome the engine issues on Flight 12 two months ago.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026
  • American Urological Association guidelines recommend testing men who have symptoms rather than screening everyone.
    — Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
Definition of testing

Browse Nearby Words

taxiing
taxing
taxis
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Taxing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taxing. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on taxing

Nglish: Translation of taxing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All