GRAPPLED (WITH) Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

grappled (with)

verb

past tense of grapple (with)

as in addressed

to deal with (something) usually skillfully or efficiently a medical ethicist who grapples with extremely difficult questions all the time

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for grappled (with)

Verb

In a post last week, Musk also addressed the government's relationship to Starlink and its missile-tracking Starshield program.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
In 2020, a soil scientist from Washington State University addressed this, shortly after Seattle founded the first US company, Recompose, to commercialize NOR.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of addressed

Verb

At a news conference Monday, the country’s director of public security, Obeidallah Maaytah, said that law enforcement tracked down the individuals involved in that attack and, after a shootout, managed to arrest them and seize their weapons.

— Aoife Walsh, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
In contrast, participants who kept training just once or twice a week managed to hold onto a significant portion of their blood pressure reductions.

— Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of managed

Verb

The second-year fifth-round pick started at the MIKE spot and handled green-dot responsibilities on his way to recording six tackles and being active throughout the night.

— Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026
Resolution is often a complex legal and financial negotiation, best handled by experienced advisors who understand creditor behavior.

— Nathan Mor, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of handled

Verb

But the things that tend to be more manageable are interiors, like a child's bedroom, but even those have so many details that have to be thought of and designed and built and manipulated.

— Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2026
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the Pentagon has not manipulated the service.

— Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of manipulated

Verb

These products have long been treated as compromises — fallbacks for pet owners or renters.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
But the familiarity of the fantasy elements and the brusqueness with which they’re treated would be forgivable if Wildwood did a better job exploring how the real world connects to the magical side of the story.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of treated

Verb

That money, alders who negotiated with Stonepeak insist, is — and was from the start — meant to reduce Chicago’s massive pension deficit.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
On the one hand, the relief came through energy, when Washington granted a series of short-term waivers that kept the NIS refinery running while Hungary’s MOL negotiated to buy out the Russian stake.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of negotiated

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grappled

grappled (with)

grapples

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“Grappled (with).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grappled%20%28with%29. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of grappled (with)

verb

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