far-reaching

adjective

far-reach·​ing ˈfär-ˌrē-chiŋ How to pronounce far-reaching (audio)
Synonyms of far-reachingnext
: having a wide range or effect

Synonyms of far-reaching

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of far-reaching in a Sentence

to the pioneers the far-reaching prairies seemed like an endless sea of grass
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Maybe, according to cybersecurity experts who are raising the alarm about AI’s increasingly sophisticated and far-reaching hacking abilities. — Cameron Peters, Vox, 23 Oct. 2026 And there are far-reaching implications for a bunch of the biggest stocks in our portfolio. — Zev Fima, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026 The order was far-reaching, affecting the federal government’s work in employment, housing and the federal prison system. — Julian Mark, Washington Post, 21 Oct. 2026 His far-reaching guest list runs from Julia Jacklin, Rostam, and Jason Newsted to Lucius and Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard. — Lily Moayeri, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for far-reaching

Word History

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of far-reaching was in 1586

Rhymes for far-reaching

See All Rhymes for far-reaching

Browse Nearby Words

farre
far-reaching
far-red
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Far-reaching.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/far-reaching. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

far-reaching

adjective
far-reach·​ing
-ˈrē-chiŋ
: having a wide range, influence, or effect
a far-reaching decision
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All