1
as in pulling
to cause to follow by applying steady force on
tugged on the door until it opened
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laboring
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tugging
The aim is practical comfort that could help new parents spend less time adjusting straps or tugging at seams and more time getting through a list that changes by the hour.
—
Footwear News, 11 Nov. 2025
Alcaras, meanwhile, keeps tugging at loose threads.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
When you’re done, simply pop open the large dustbin and empty debris directly into the trash—no tugging out tangled hair or gunk required.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2025
Concurrently, the events leading to Sutton’s death keep tugging at the edges of his mind.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Her reporting turns the accident into an albatross around their necks, tearing at their reputations and tugging at all the other skeletons in their closets.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Then, a black bear creeps in through the brush and begins tugging, pulling, and sinking its two-inch teeth into the carcass.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 8 Oct. 2025
Guardiola was agitated that Van Hecke went to ground inside his own penalty area in a shirt-tugging duel with Erling Haaland.
—Andy Naylor, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The heart-tugging comedy is a point of pride for Johansson, 40, who hopes to set an example to her kids by stepping behind the camera and chasing her dreams.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
Footwear News, 11 Nov. 2025
Alcaras, meanwhile, keeps tugging at loose threads.
—Jp Mangalindan, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
When you’re done, simply pop open the large dustbin and empty debris directly into the trash—no tugging out tangled hair or gunk required.
—Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2025
Concurrently, the events leading to Sutton’s death keep tugging at the edges of his mind.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Her reporting turns the accident into an albatross around their necks, tearing at their reputations and tugging at all the other skeletons in their closets.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2025
Then, a black bear creeps in through the brush and begins tugging, pulling, and sinking its two-inch teeth into the carcass.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 8 Oct. 2025
Guardiola was agitated that Van Hecke went to ground inside his own penalty area in a shirt-tugging duel with Erling Haaland.
—Andy Naylor, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
The heart-tugging comedy is a point of pride for Johansson, 40, who hopes to set an example to her kids by stepping behind the camera and chasing her dreams.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugging
Verb
-
The challenge is less about pulling people off the street and more about improving the quality and capacity of training and integration of Ukrainian infantry into combat brigades.—
Jack Watling,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Nov. 2025
-
After pulling between your teeth to enjoy, the pods are discarded.—
Tammy Algood,
Southern Kitchen,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The Dodgers then knocked off the Giants in the NL Division Series, though Scherzer lost his Game 3 start – allowing three hits and a run on Evan Longoria’s game-deciding homer while laboring seven innings and 110 pitches.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
26 Oct. 2025
-
With The Fulfillment, the sub-context is how clout culture is a currency, how attention itself has become a currency, just like our laboring bodies are.—
Christopher Claxton,
Billboard,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But, in a year that has already seen multiple political assassinations, the deployment of the National Guard to American cities, and masked agents of the federal government hauling people off the streets and into unmarked vans, the prospects for a peaceful anniversary appear remote.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
-
The vehicle was hauling 21 monkeys that day, and eight of them escaped.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Advertisement Her victory also carries national implications for Democrats, who are struggling to chart a path between progressive energy and centrist caution ahead of the 2026 midterms.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Always Greener, which scored 15 nominations on the annual Brit List, is a high concept script that follows a struggling artist, haunted by past failure, who is given a one-in-a-million chance to become his rich and successful doppelganger from a parallel universe.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Apart from being walking-friendly enough for commuting to and from the office, the relatively comfortable heel also gives your denim, maxidresses, and trousers a little lift, keeping hems from dragging.—
Shelby Ying Hyde,
Glamour,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Introducing a 50-year mortgage could help individuals and families facing higher borrowing and homeownership costs, but experts warn that any benefit could be easily outweighed by dragging on payments for 20 years longer than the standard 30-year term.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Most in the league seem to think the Bills, after years of striving for a Super Bowl, are having a hard time staying motivated when the stakes are lower.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
-
At Miami, that’s supposed to be striving for championships.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Of those, about 44,000 were working adults and 42,000 were working for an employer, according to the report.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Singaporean transit company ComfortDelGro, meanwhile, is working with Pony AI to explore offering robotaxis, while Lyft is collaborating with Baidu to test its Apollo Go self-driving cars in Europe.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Someone trying to keep the clicks coming to make a living, or a leader of the repressed?—
Greg O'Keeffe,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
-
My body’s in a C shape, trying to track the aim.—
Adam B. Vary,
Variety,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tugging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugging. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share