TUGGED Synonyms: 112 Similar and Opposite Words

tugged

verb

past tense of tug

as in pulled

to cause to follow by applying steady force on tugged on the door until it opened

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in struggled

to devote serious and sustained effort she's tugged all her life to get to where she is now in the business world

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 tugged The wind tugged and shook the bomber, but the pilot held her steady. — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026 But already the thought tugged at me that the scales that had turned were not celestial, but legal, the workings of the same system condemned in the camp as corrupt and broken. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 In the first half especially, the away team tugged Arsenal around, and might easily have built upon that early Rogers goal. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026 The late night host tugged at her sleeve cutout to get a look at the ink. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 27 Aug. 2026 The seas have been kind, or at least kinder than expected, to SpaceX's Starship spacecraft, as it's been tugged through the Indian Ocean to friendlier tides. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Hicks broke up a Mahomes pass to Noah Gray, but Hicks could have tugged Gray before making the play. — Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 11 Aug. 2026 The incident appeared to have tugged on something much deeper. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 Meanwhile, other storylines were timely and tugged at heartstrings, such as when her character officiated the first gay male wedding on daytime TV in a 2014 episode following Marlena’s emotional coming-out scenes with her grandson. — Jeff Nelson, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tugged

Verb

Michael Whatley‘s campaign against Democrat Roy Cooper on Tuesday evening, even as Republican PACs have quietly pulled funding from the race.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
Wilson is part of the reason three mothers pulled their children this year from a San Diego-area Christian school, which pursued an affiliation with ACCS.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulled

Verb

The 3-3 Knights have struggled in the Big 12 since joining the conference, but tend to be better at home in the friendly confines of the Acrisure Bounce House.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
The shift signals a turning point for the left, which has historically struggled to counter the far-right’s dominant online presence and savvy digital strategy.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of struggled

Verb

All of that material is currently hauled elsewhere for disposal, including round trips of about 200 miles to other biomass facilities.

— Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026
However, with five minutes left in regulation and Penn State threatening to score, Becht was hauled down while scrambling and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Michigan.

— Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of hauled

Verb

Malkin controlled Lapierre’s dump-in attempt near the blue line, toe-dragged past Panther defenseman Gustav Forsling in the slot and beat Black with a wrist shot.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
In my opinion, the president and his incompetent, corrupt acolytes have debased the office and dragged the good name of America through the mud.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragged

Verb

For decades, Buck and Aikman’s equally dry sense of humor worked, and there was never the slightest appearance of friction.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026
Ichiyama has worked closely with Chinese-language auteurs including Hou Hsiao-hsien and Jia Zhangke, and says the mainland industry changed sharply in the mid-2000s.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of worked

Verb

Though eventually abandoned due to cost, this system of surveillance endeavored to equate producers with virtue.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
Whatever people think of the film, it was endeavored to be made with purely with the process at its heart.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of endeavored

Browse Nearby Words

tugboats

tugged

tugging

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“Tugged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tugged. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of tugged

verb

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