PULLING Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

pulling

verb

present participle of pull

as in hauling

to cause to follow by applying steady force on a team of horses pulling a heavy wagon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in prying

to draw out by force or with effort the dentist had to struggle to pull the tooth

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stretching

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure lift the crate carefully, or you'll pull a muscle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of pulling One of the most fun parts of writing comedy is coming up with alt after alt after alt for a joke, pulling ever-increasingly stupid punch lines out of one’s ass. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026 The deputy made a U-turn and saw the man, who deputies say is 49-year-old Brenton Burke, kneeling under the truck’s steering column and pulling wires, the arrest report states. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 Williams got hurt in his second game of the season, pulling his hamstring in dramatic fashion. — David Troy Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026 DeWine stops short of pulling his endorsement But the governor stopped short of pulling his backing of the Republican for now. — Julie Carr Smyth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 With a goal and two assists, Kucherov increased his total to 1,137 career points, pulling even with former teammate Steven Stamkos for the club record. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 She was later also diagnosed with OCD and trichotillomania, a hair-pulling disorder associated with OCD and anxiety. — Nancy Jo Sales, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 Safe haven demand temporarily outweighed inflation fears, prompting capital to exit risk assets and flow into the Treasury market, thereby pulling yields lower. — CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 With the United States pulling back, a new bargain in which Europe carries more of the nuclear burden and has more say in the choice to use these weapons is the only way to ensure transatlantic security. — Ivo H. Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulling

Verb

To protect the boardwalk and the homes there, the city has been hauling sand from the west end of the beach to the east to create a buffer between the ocean and the shore.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
For now, Starship's most immediate role is hauling Starlink satellites in orbit.

— Andrew Jones, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of hauling

Verb

Or two birds face-to-face in close proximity, covering themselves with their wings as if to share a secret kiss away from prying eyes, could evoke a giggle.

— Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Davidson was thrust into a reality-TV world of prying paparazzi and untold media scrutiny.

— Marlow Stern, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of prying

Verb

Enter the extrait de parfum, a fragrance with concentration beginning at around 20 percent and stretching as high as 60 percent in some cases, versus typically 15 to 20 percent for an eau de parfum.

— Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
The Fantasy Bra has a long history, stretching back 30 years.

— Max Berlinger, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of stretching

Verb

Count seats against your guest list, then throw down floor cushions or a blanket pile instead of dragging in extra chairs.

— Lauren Schuster, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Plus, because most wide-legs have longer inseams, a low heel prevents them from dragging on the ground.

— Eva Thomas, InStyle, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

Like so many Americans, Jenny Escolastico has watched wearily as the cost of living has risen, straining her household budget.

— Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
The payoff is a system that can handle more energy without straining the rest of the time.

— Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of straining

Verb

Sitting in a boat, tugging their house behind them, the journey initially appears to be going smoothly.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026
The sweet gallery opens with Rocki tugging at a large wig placed on her head as Rihanna can be heard laughing in the background.

— Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2026

Definition of tugging

Verb

In the Johnson administration, that has taken a back seat to extracting cash from those deemed by these redistributionists as having too much of it.

— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
For supporters, the proposal represents an emergency fiscal response aimed at temporarily extracting revenue from unprecedented concentrations of wealth.

— Trevor Laurence Jockims, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of extracting

Browse Nearby Words

pull in

pulling

pulling a face

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pulling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulling. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pulling

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

milieu

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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?

Popular in Wordplay

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

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes