APPLY (ONESELF) Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

apply (oneself)

verb

Definition of apply (oneself)

as in to buckle (down)

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for apply (oneself)

Verb

Since retaking the pitch in 2018-19, Belenenses has clawed its way back to relevance, winning five consecutive promotions.

— Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 22 Oct. 2026
Outside of Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers bullpen can fire pitches in there.

— David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of pitch in

Verb

Magadan had a deadly reputation in the Stalin era, as a hub for Gulag mines where political prisoners slaved sometimes to death and produced gold and other minerals in the process.

— Ian Frazier, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
Po’s journey begins while slaving away at his boring noodle job on the day the Dragon Warrior is to be chosen.

— Skyler Trepel, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Nov. 2025

Definition of slave

Verb

But for Spring/Summer 2027, the dust has largely settled, as many from this fresh cohort knuckle down and develop their second or third collections.

— Lucy Maguire, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026
Teams will use the five-week gap between the races in Japan and Miami to knuckle down at their factories and develop car upgrades that could boost their fortunes upon returning to the track in May.

— Luke Smith, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of knuckle down

Verb

Democratic politicians, bureaucrats and labor leaders, once rabble-rousers like Bass who nowadays seem to exist mostly to keep their sinecure, have labored mightily to convince unbelieving voters that Bass deserves another shot.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
The circumstances of Saint Michael’s help while the pilgrim labored and delivered in the ocean were markedly different from those in the miracle ascribed to the Virgin.

— Ellen O’Connell Whittet, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of labor

Verb

To heat-style, blow-dry curtain bangs away from the face, sweeping them from side to side with a paddle brush.

— Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 9 June 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.

— Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025

Definition of bang away

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applying (to)

apply (oneself)

apply (to)

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“Apply (oneself).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apply%20%28oneself%29. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of apply (oneself)

verb

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