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
His young daughter tugged at him.
—
Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
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
Christine Ro, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugged
Verb
-
In a lot of cases, Earth’s gravity probably captured these objects and pulled them in, adding them to its growing bulk.—
Kiona N. Smith,
Space.com,
17 June 2026
-
The Telegraph reports that the artist pulled a Russian flag from his pants and threw it in a trash can.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Once her shots started to fall, the Sparks struggled to contain her.—
Jordan Puente,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
The group struggled to find relevance in the aftermath of Kath’s death, largely thanks to shifting musical tastes.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
Marin ultimately hauled McNulty to court in 2022, and a judge ordered her to vacate, according to Vanity Fair.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
-
Before these findings, published in the Journal of Fish Biology, goblin sharks were only filmed or reported after being hooked on a fishing line and hauled to the surface, dying shortly later, the news release states.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
About 2,700 engineers labored on the project.—
Ian Bogost,
The Atlantic,
12 June 2026
-
Stephen Kolek labored through the first three innings for Kansas City, delivering 55 pitches and allowing six baserunners, but stranded four.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
But peace talks have dragged for weeks under a ceasefire that began in April.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
13 June 2026
-
And public anger grew after video showed an activist being dragged by a private security guard while demonstrating at the site.—
Zana Cimili,
Fortune,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
The Knicks elected to foul rather than allow San Antonio to attempt a tying three and the strategy worked exactly as intended.—
Dan Zaksheske,
FOXNews.com,
14 June 2026
-
In the 1970s, what was then West Germany co-produced the Tornado bomber with the UK and Italy; then in the 1990s Germany worked with the UK, Italy and Spain to produce the dog-fighting Eurofighter jet.—
Joseph Ataman,
CNN Money,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
When Disney+ first launched, the House of Mouse endeavored to make its streaming platform the new home of all things Star Wars.—
Chris Snellgrove,
Entertainment Weekly,
21 May 2026
-
Johnson for months endeavored to appoint his ally ex-Ald.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugged. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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