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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of tugged
The rookie tryout cornerback repeatedly tugged on undrafted rookie wide receiver Omari Kelly’s jersey as Kelly ran a go route up the left sideline.
—
Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026
When Wembanyama then grabbed the ensuing rebound right over Reid, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels came in and tugged down on Wembanyama’s jersey from behind, then held onto his off arm.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 11 May 2026
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
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
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
Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026
When Wembanyama then grabbed the ensuing rebound right over Reid, Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels came in and tugged down on Wembanyama’s jersey from behind, then held onto his off arm.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 11 May 2026
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
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
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
-
Turkey is undoubtedly one of the pioneers in this field, but others have been steadily following in its footsteps, making many feel as though a carpet has been pulled from under them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
-
Coach Matt Mowry was asked if Acuna was close to being pulled.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
The promotion remains the sport’s undeniable leader, but has struggled to find a new generation of mainstream stars since Rousey and Conor McGregor in the 2010s.—
Mark Puleo,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
Advertisement Two more moderate candidates, state senator Sharif Street and pediatric surgeon Ala Stanford, split votes and struggled to catch fire.—
Julia Terruso,
Time,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
Beshey hauled him to the front yard, having to set him down once because of his bulk.—
Alina Hartounian,
NPR,
18 May 2026
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That came in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle in December when Rodrigo Bentancur hauled Dan Burn down, with Anthony Gordon scoring the resulting penalty.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Kreider, who dealt with injuries last season with the New York Rangers, has labored.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
14 May 2026
-
The residents labored in a lead smelter near the mountain's base and worked on the project for nearly a decade, until it was completed in 1940.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Chinese firms have dragged their feet in purchasing the chips after the Chinese government encouraged them to turn to domestic chipmakers like Huawei.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
15 May 2026
-
Another witness described seeing a woman dragged from a vehicle, pinned against a wall, repeatedly raped and then stabbed, with the assault allegedly continuing after her death.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The White Sox slugger worked a 1-1 count by taking a pair of pitches away.—
Andy Martinez,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
-
Instead of being found by quick switches of play, Grimaldo and Frimpong would often become involved in moves higher up the pitch after the ball had worked its way through Alonso’s midfield box (consisting of the two deeper midfielders and two No 10s).—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Johnson for months endeavored to appoint his ally ex-Ald.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
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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 22 May. 2026.
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