1
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
flooded residents who were forced to trudge through waist-deep water
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
no expert on taxes, I spent the whole weekend trudging through government forms
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of trudging
Wroblewski began trudging through the snow with his luggage to Hughes’ actual home.
—
Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
The bus drivers do nothing to enforce the rules, and we seniors are left trudging down the bus aisle while the people in the seats smirk, look at their phones and talk to each other.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
The rest of our fair crew is trudging along through broken wrists and CT scans.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
The hill sits off a dirt road and takes a bit of trudging up before the dimpled geodes start appearing in earnest.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, Paramount has shown little inclination of quietly trudging off into the sunset, as was made clear by the complaints the company’s attorneys lodged yesterday.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Dec. 2025
To get there, the Norwegian explorers navigated the interminable snowfields of interior Antarctica, trudging through the harshest climates on earth for 56 days.
—Brad Japhe, HollywoodReporter, 25 Oct. 2025
While the federal government shutdown has been trudging along, a cottage in the Grand Canyon Village has provided for those in need following weeks of no pay and a devastating wildfire.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
The bus drivers do nothing to enforce the rules, and we seniors are left trudging down the bus aisle while the people in the seats smirk, look at their phones and talk to each other.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
The rest of our fair crew is trudging along through broken wrists and CT scans.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
The hill sits off a dirt road and takes a bit of trudging up before the dimpled geodes start appearing in earnest.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, Paramount has shown little inclination of quietly trudging off into the sunset, as was made clear by the complaints the company’s attorneys lodged yesterday.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Dec. 2025
To get there, the Norwegian explorers navigated the interminable snowfields of interior Antarctica, trudging through the harshest climates on earth for 56 days.
—Brad Japhe, HollywoodReporter, 25 Oct. 2025
While the federal government shutdown has been trudging along, a cottage in the Grand Canyon Village has provided for those in need following weeks of no pay and a devastating wildfire.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trudging
Verb
-
Instead, the focus will be on shuffling bench pieces such as Yabusele or Jordan Clarkson.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Many of those inmates have been there multiple times, shuffling out and back every three days in order to satisfy a technical requirement for how long they may be held.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The committee is already split between those worried about persistent inflation, who’d like to keep rates unchanged, and those who think that recent upticks in unemployment point to a stumbling economy that needs lower interest rates to bolster hiring.—
Christopher Rugaber,
Fortune,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Years of decline have reduced Tottenham — one of the wealthiest clubs on the planet — to a place where the collective mood of the fanbase is at least somewhat conditioned by Arsenal stumbling again.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Han will be posted up by the Milennium Falcon and/or Oga’s Cantina, Luke will be stomping his Chanel boots in the marketplace, and Darth Vader will be force-choking dads in Grumpy tees.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
14 Jan. 2026
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Then there’s the people watching, from the tailgating to the communal divot stomping, full of dramatic sun dresses and hats with flourishes, seersucker suits and, yes, hats with flourishes.—
Eric Barton,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Bear, struggling with drug addiction, had no one urging her to fight the state’s case.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
-
He’s trapped in rolling crises of his own making and is struggling to sell voters on the idea of a strong American economy.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trudging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trudging. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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