1
as in pulling
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 laboring
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 tugging
He is seen in the video grabbing and tugging on her to prevent her from leaving.
—
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 20 June 2026
Vinicus followed up his stunning early strike with a series of nagging runs, tugging the Panamanians’ back line into awkward shapes.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Jupiter's moons are in a chain of orbital resonances that could only have formed by the moons tugging gently on each other in passing over a long period of time, and crater records also suggest that Jupiter's moons are very, very old.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 29 May 2026
But that can’t account for comparable rises in nations that haven’t adopted such policies; average maternal age has also risen in countries around the world without tugging up gestational diabetes in the same way.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026
To harvest, use pruning shears, scissors, or a knife to cut cucumbers from the vine, rather than pulling them off, as tugging can harm the plant.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 23 May 2026
Before the film's presentation, the actress was seen playfully tugging at her husband's blazer.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026
The gel formula swipes onto the lids without any skipping or tugging, giving you ample time to smudge, sculpt, or sharpen the line before the brand’s patented PermaLock Technology sets it into a waterproof, transfer-proof, and smudge-proof finish.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 10 May 2026
The rejection hit me hard—the story, of the daughter of a celebrity chef who moves to a small town after being adopted by her older brother, was really tugging at my heartstrings.
—Literary Hub, 7 May 2026
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 20 June 2026
Vinicus followed up his stunning early strike with a series of nagging runs, tugging the Panamanians’ back line into awkward shapes.
—Jack Lang, New York Times, 1 June 2026
Jupiter's moons are in a chain of orbital resonances that could only have formed by the moons tugging gently on each other in passing over a long period of time, and crater records also suggest that Jupiter's moons are very, very old.
—Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 29 May 2026
But that can’t account for comparable rises in nations that haven’t adopted such policies; average maternal age has also risen in countries around the world without tugging up gestational diabetes in the same way.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026
To harvest, use pruning shears, scissors, or a knife to cut cucumbers from the vine, rather than pulling them off, as tugging can harm the plant.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 23 May 2026
Before the film's presentation, the actress was seen playfully tugging at her husband's blazer.
—Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026
The gel formula swipes onto the lids without any skipping or tugging, giving you ample time to smudge, sculpt, or sharpen the line before the brand’s patented PermaLock Technology sets it into a waterproof, transfer-proof, and smudge-proof finish.
—Jailynn Taylor, Allure, 10 May 2026
The rejection hit me hard—the story, of the daughter of a celebrity chef who moves to a small town after being adopted by her older brother, was really tugging at my heartstrings.
—Literary Hub, 7 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugging
Verb
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The beast screamed and flew away, pulling an attached anchor into the water.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
-
Launched in 2004 to study gamma-ray bursts, Swift remains scientifically valuable, but atmospheric drag has been pulling it dangerously close to Earth.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
Verb
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The woodcut birth figures contained in these books were not images drawn from observation—pregnant cadavers for anatomical drawing were hard to come by—but were instead abstracted diagrams of the chaotic diversity of laboring bodies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
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Another laboring woman with the same image on her phone.—
Karli Swenson,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Alternative disposal methods such as chipping or hauling landscape debris to a green waste facility can help reduce fire risk without open burning.—
Haley Parsley,
Sacbee.com,
17 June 2026
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The Indians had been hauling timber with him.—
Dolores Brown,
Outdoor Life,
17 June 2026
Verb
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The two candidates also are offering differing solutions for the country’s struggling health system, ballooning public debt and entrenched corruption.—
Regina Garcia Cano,
Chicago Tribune,
21 June 2026
-
The two candidates also are offering differing solutions for the country's struggling health system, ballooning public debt and entrenched corruption.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 June 2026
Verb
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Yet the latest round of fighting has underscored the group’s resilience, dragging Lebanon into a regional war and drawing the Israeli military back to a familiar southern Lebanon terrain.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
23 June 2026
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According to the criminal complaint, the boy told police Diggs began choking him before dragging him into the nearby alley.—
Jessica Riley,
CBS News,
23 June 2026
Verb
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The overarching message is that spatial computing is maturing, striving for seamless integration into daily life.—
Tim Bajarin,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
General Motors is among the Western automakers striving to match that blistering pace, by harnessing AI and simulation to dramatically shorten development times.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Davidson is more steeped in Democratic politics, including working for years as a political consultant and winning a county legislature seat in 2023.—
Chris McKenna,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
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These startups are working with a range of different non-invasive sensor modalities, including those that measure electrical pulses (EEG), those that measure magnetic fields (MEG), and those that use light to measure changes in blood flow (fNIRS).—
Rob Toews,
Forbes.com,
22 June 2026
Verb
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Brian Gutiérrez, the Mexican American who played a key role in the opener as South Africa was hit a with a red card while trying to stop him, and veteran Roberto Alvarado, who recorded an assist against South Africa, joined Rangel as Chivas starters in the opener.—
Eduard Cauich,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
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The officer retreated and fired several shots, killing the dog and injuring its owner, who was trying to secure the animal, police said.—
Michael Guise,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tugging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugging. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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