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
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
-
The dogs, including newborn puppies, were pulled to safety by the Brandywine Valley SPCA rescue team.—
Kerri Corrado,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
The war pulled the Bureau away from these efforts, but once peace returned, Kline and his scientists had gone back to work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
In April, Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo proved to be an effective outlet as Chelsea struggled to cope with their pace.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
-
During her weekslong trial, friends of Richinses described how the couple had moments of material strife and struggled with infidelity.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
The state is vast, arid, and dependent on power hauled over long distances.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
-
When the episode ends, Thalia has been violently hauled away by the Eyes for betraying God and her sisters.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Cade Cavalli, who struck out 10 in each of his previous two starts, labored his way through four innings, and the offense failed to convert on early opportunities.—
Danielle Allentuck,
Washington Post,
6 May 2026
-
In Qatar, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi factory worker labored through 12-hour shifts as missiles flew overhead.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
On March 14, visiting SDFC led FC Dallas 3-1 before Petar Musa dragged the home side back.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
The Carboniferous period dragged on for sixty million.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Snell worked around Kim’s throwing error in the third to pitch a scoreless third and his day was done after 77 pitches.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
10 May 2026
-
After his playing days were over, Kerr worked as a basketball analyst for TNT, then was an executive with the Suns from 2007-10.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
10 May 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 14 May. 2026.
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