1
as in pulled
to cause to follow by applying steady force on
tugged on the door until it opened
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in struggled
to devote serious and sustained effort
she's tugged all her life to get to where she is now in the business world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tugged
Sure, the sequence largely swipes away hints given prior that Bowser was an absent father, but in a film where most of the characters veer toward the blandly nice, watching a dad and his son bond over their same sociopathic tendencies was the only moment that tugged at the heartstrings.
—
Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 31 Mar. 2026
Smoldering at the camera, the star—who’s currently dating Scooter Braun—tugged down the straps of the plum-chocolate bra and covered her chest with her hands.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
When owner Nicholas Iwaniuk saw his dog Shadow, the half Australian shepherd, half Australian cattle dog tugged at her leash, charged forward and jumped into his arms.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
From life’s first moments, multiplying cells are squished, stretched, and tugged to form tissues that bend and twist into organs that expand and contract.
—Clare Watson, Quanta Magazine, 27 Feb. 2026
And when Sky and Virginia were playing in a backyard sandpit one day, her little brother tugged on her T-shirt, pointing toward a snake.
—Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
Baseball still tugged at his heart.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Yelkur ranked Google’s Gemini commercial about imagining a new home as one of the most emotionally appealing, likeable ads that tugged at the heartstrings.
—Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
After a few demonstrations, Destiny tugged the cord the way Carol showed us, and the bike roared to life.
—Hazlitt, 4 Feb. 2026
Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 31 Mar. 2026
Smoldering at the camera, the star—who’s currently dating Scooter Braun—tugged down the straps of the plum-chocolate bra and covered her chest with her hands.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 7 Mar. 2026
When owner Nicholas Iwaniuk saw his dog Shadow, the half Australian shepherd, half Australian cattle dog tugged at her leash, charged forward and jumped into his arms.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
From life’s first moments, multiplying cells are squished, stretched, and tugged to form tissues that bend and twist into organs that expand and contract.
—Clare Watson, Quanta Magazine, 27 Feb. 2026
And when Sky and Virginia were playing in a backyard sandpit one day, her little brother tugged on her T-shirt, pointing toward a snake.
—Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
Baseball still tugged at his heart.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Yelkur ranked Google’s Gemini commercial about imagining a new home as one of the most emotionally appealing, likeable ads that tugged at the heartstrings.
—Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
After a few demonstrations, Destiny tugged the cord the way Carol showed us, and the bike roared to life.
—Hazlitt, 4 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugged
Verb
-
Hoopes turned a corner and the cop, lights flashing, pulled him over.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Finally, this past New Year’s Eve, their full-length debut surfaced as an unfussy YouTube post—only to get pulled one week later as Bottner sought label distribution.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The wheels fell off in the top of the ninth inning, as reliever Devin Williams, who has struggled in his previous two outings, ensured the losing streak continued.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
-
While Tommy Tremble and Mitchell Evans have formed a nice inline platoon, Ja’Tavion Sanders has struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the past two seasons.—
Mike Kaye
April 22,
Charlotte Observer,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The bears also rummaged through neighbors’ trash and hauled it back beneath the house.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Los Angeles Fire Department investigators are looking into a pair of fires that broke out inside of Amazon cargo containers being hauled through downtown Los Angeles in back-to-back weeks.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In many years on dairy farms, the worker often labored for 10 hours with no breaks.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Lamarck surely labored over these Romantic effusions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The officer grabbed me and said 'you're arrested,' and just put me in handcuffs and drug and dragged me out.—
Mahsa Saeidi,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Baker, still by himself, grabbed Rivera’s bulletproof vest and dragged her to the first-floor lobby, where he was met by other responding Chicago Police Department officers.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Sharing the ball helps fuel Magic winning streak The Magic got the win over the Bulls by sticking to what’s worked best during Orlando’s five-game winning streak.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The system worked properly to prevent tripping of additional breakers.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Johnson for months endeavored to appoint his ally ex-Ald.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Along the way, Pollan endeavored to find answers to some of the most fundamental questions of existence, like why is there a subjective self at all?—
Nick Hilden,
Rolling Stone,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugged. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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