CATCHING ON (TO) Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

catching on (to)

verb

present participle of catch on (to)

as in realizing

to come to an awareness of she caught on to the fact that they were planning a surprise party

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in knowing

to have a clear idea of he finally caught on to the concept of phototaxis

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for catching on (to)

Verb

What changed her was realizing that natural ability wasn’t enough, leaving Hollywood for New York and studying with Lee Strasberg.

— Clayton Davis, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026
Capital One is getting closer to realizing the benefits of its transformative acquisition.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of realizing

Verb

A week ago, the Chiefs were in Seattle, who signed cornerback Terrion Arnold in August, knowing Arnold is still facing eight first-degree felony chargers, including three counts of kidnapping, which could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026
When the three networks divided up the Big Ten’s TV games last spring, Byczek said NBC also zeroed in on that game, as well as USC’s matchups with Ohio State and Penn State, knowing both would fit well featured in prime time.

— Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of knowing

Verb

There’s something appealing about discovering that a place has been welcoming people for the same reason for more than a century.

— Chloe Sachdev, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Oct. 2026
But younger Japanese are now discovering that energy from the Showa Era (1926-1989), the period of Emperor Showa’s reign, when Japanese pop culture was at a fertile peak.

— Mark Schilling, Variety, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of discovering

Verb

During that period and beyond, Hawthorne kept a series of notebooks, which scholars see as an important primary source for understanding the ideas and descriptions that informed his early writings and later novels.

— Robert S. Levine, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
The science writer Ann Finkbender wrote a charming essay about understanding this principle of life in Last Word on Nothing.

— Shayla Love, Vox, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of understanding

Verb

If this sort of shotgun approach to local targeting is a relatively unfamiliar phenomenon in political circles, football fans have long grown used to seeing ads for things that are essentially irrelevant to their own interests.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2026
In fact, resilient optimism begins with seeing the problem clearly.

— Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business Review, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of seeing

Verb

Bahdanau was working with artificial neural networks, which had already shown promise in pattern-recognition tasks such as deciphering handwriting and identifying objects in photos.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
In addition to developing better medicines or perfumes, deciphering the mirror images of molecules can help scientists understand the chemical architecture of life, said chemist Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the journal Science.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of deciphering

Verb

Helping other families Their experience seeking answers in Amy’s case and hearing other families describe similar struggles, prompted Shawn and Angie to consider starting a nonprofit years ago.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Police detained Runa at the care home and took her away before her mother, who had rushed back to the facility upon hearing the news, had a chance to see her, Yoko recalled.

— Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of hearing

Verb

After recognizing the need for sturdier work pants, Strauss partnered with tailor Jacob Davis to develop a design that used copper rivets on denim and duck canvas pants, laying the foundation for the modern blue jean.

— Kristina Rutkowski, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
Adebayo’s coaches and teammates celebrated the moment after Wednesday’s win in Atlanta by recognizing his accomplishment in their State Farm Arena locker room before dousing him with water.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of recognizing

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.

Browse Nearby Words

catching one's eye

catching on (to)

catching up

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“Catching on (to).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catching%20on%20%28to%29. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of catching on (to)

verb

Example Sentences

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