Synonyms of tugging

tugging

verb

present participle of tug

1

as in pulling

to cause to follow by applying steady force on

tugged on the door until it opened

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pulling
• hauling
• dragging
• towing
• lugging
• drawing
• carrying
• attracting
• yanking
• heaving
• haling
• jerking
• moving
• transporting
• conveying
• ferrying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pushing
• driving
• propelling
• shoving
• thrusting

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

• laboring
• struggling
• striving
• working
• trying
• endeavoring
• sweating
• plowing
• humping
• toiling
• straining
• grubbing
• plugging
• digging (away)
• hustling
• slaving
• plodding
• slogging
• drudging
• pegging (away)
• travailing
• banging away
• moiling
• fagging
• exerting
• scratching
• applying (oneself)
• attacking
• sweating blood
• beavering (away)
• buckling (down)
• driving
• hammering (away)
• exercising
• digging in
• wading
• pitching in
• scrabbling
• trudging
• grinding (out)
• overworking
• essaying
• eking out
• overexerting
• knuckling down
• putting out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaking
• slackening
• easing (up)
• idling
• lounging
• hanging (around or out)
• shirking
• resting
• chilling
• letting up
• bumming
• loafing
• dallying
• lazing
• unwinding
• hanging
• relaxing
• hacking (around)
• playing
• goofing (off)
• slacking (off)
• lolling
• reposing
• basking
• dabbling
• goldbricking
• trifling
• dillydallying
• footling
• doodling
• fooling around
• messing around
• vegging out
• puttering (around)
• goofing (around)
• monkeying (around)
• pottering (around)
• hanging about
• fribbling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tugging

Teams earned points by winning weekly head-to-head battles – tugging a sled across the field the fastest, surviving a heated game of dodgeball – and by simply doing the right thing. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Other players rushed to the scene, with linebacker Dre Greenlaw tugging right tackle Colton McKivitz to the ground, prompting fullback Kyle Juszczyk to enter the fray and a dogpile ensued. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 31 July 2026

After tugging on the singer's arm, the concertgoer was quickly apprehended by security. — Edward Segarra, USA Today, 31 July 2026

Prying policy specifics from a political candidate often is like tugging a bone from a bulldog. — George F. Will, Washington Post, 17 July 2026

Jude, meanwhile, was shifting from tossing cones to tugging at his ears, afflicted with the same malady that had landed several of the toddlers on the room’s version of the injury list. — ABC News, 30 June 2026

These ergonomic neoprene handle wraps provide additional cushioning around the handles of your carry-on or checked suitcase, a dream for tired, achy hands after a day of tugging luggage. — Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 24 June 2026

But the combatants kept grasping and tugging each other off-balance. — Bob Brody, New York Daily News, 21 June 2026

He is seen in the video grabbing and tugging on her to prevent her from leaving. — Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 20 June 2026