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
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
The silicone prosthetics were incredibly thin, which meant that putting a ring through them could rip them if they were accidentally tugged or pulled too hard.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 3 Feb. 2026
Heartstrings are tugged as what appear to be hardworking, hard-loving individuals receive aesthetic and material upgrades.
—Rich Juzwiak, Time, 21 Jan. 2026
The penalty was awarded following a VAR check by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala after Diaz had been tugged to the ground by Senegal fullback El Hadji Malick Diouf while defending a corner five minutes into stoppage time.
—Reuters, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
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
The silicone prosthetics were incredibly thin, which meant that putting a ring through them could rip them if they were accidentally tugged or pulled too hard.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 3 Feb. 2026
Heartstrings are tugged as what appear to be hardworking, hard-loving individuals receive aesthetic and material upgrades.
—Rich Juzwiak, Time, 21 Jan. 2026
The penalty was awarded following a VAR check by Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala after Diaz had been tugged to the ground by Senegal fullback El Hadji Malick Diouf while defending a corner five minutes into stoppage time.
—Reuters, NBC news, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugged
Verb
-
While Democrats dominated the early voting numbers in Pulaski County -- one of the few heavily blue pockets of the state -- Democrats outnumbered Republicans in election day voting on Tuesday with 18,363 people casting Democratic ballots compared to the 10,500 who pulled ballots for Republicans.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The prosecutor alleged that Abril confronted the couple, at which point James MacEgan was shot and killed, before Abril grabbed MacEgan’s wife and pulled her into the creek.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That concern has been one of the reasons why Broadcom's stock has struggled to gain traction this year.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Agalopol struggled to get out of bed daily and could manage teaching only five students a week.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The resulting wood chips and soil are either piled in place to rot and decay or hauled offsite.—
Daniel Scott,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Mar. 2026
-
That infrastructure had to be carefully cut and hauled away while a living manatee sat directly below.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
He was stuck deep in the recesses of shock and grief at the loss of the boy who’d labored by his side for so long, a boy who’d never harmed anyone and who had sat behind the wheel of that silver Saab from sunrise to sundown for the family.—
Anand Gopal,
New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Like some other trade center components, the project labored for years to secure financing and an anchor tenant.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Clinton Towers Tenants Association President Mary Somoza says residents are fed up with construction in the lobby and on the facade that's dragged on for three years.—
Tim McNicholas,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
As the weeks dragged, the RAF turned to a fringe Palestinian militant group, then based in Baghdad, for help.—
Jason Burke,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Max Grubbs worked around a one-out single to complete a scoreless frame.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Mar. 2026
-
For more than 20 years, the Illinois native has worked as an attorney.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
One month later, Turning Point’s flagship conference descended into recriminations over the very controversies and conspiracies that its founder had endeavored so assiduously to suppress.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugged. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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