tussling

present participle of tussle
as in wrestling
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery puppies tussling with one another, rolling over and over on the carpet

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 tussling Michigan is looking for a more complete performance after tussling with UTEP through the first half last week. — ABC News, 25 Sep. 2026 The video depicts a group of students engaged in horseplay, progressing to two 15-year-olds tussling and laughing, according to the suit. — Eric Peterson, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026 But for those who find (and in some cases may be slightly mystified as to why) that there is a nagging, needling value to Schrader’s ongoing project of tussling with grandiose dilemmas of transgression and deliverance, there is some new news here. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026 He was seen dancing at San Diego Comic Con, getting arrested in Times Square, giving out free hugs on the Santa Monica Pier, and tussling with an AMC employee over a bag of popcorn. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2026 Two people with divergent intuitions about what’s normal, or endurable, can end up tussling over the same territory. — Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 15 July 2026 There’s nothing like it—the sun shining, a warm breeze tussling your hair, waves rushing onto the shore, and breathing in the fresh, salty air. — Susan B. Barnes, Southern Living, 14 July 2026 The sheriff's office released body camera footage showing a 30-second clip of Rivas tussling with the alligator. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 9 June 2026 Two boys tussling over a bladder in a three-foot-high canvas painted by Joseph Wright of Derby in the late 1760s snarl up in a whirlpool of pain, each twisting the other’s right ear. — Julian Bell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tussling
Verb
  • The bystander followed the 16-year-old gunman and shot him as another teacher was wrestling with him over the weapon, according to police.
    — Tom Winter, NBC news, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Inside the school Giamanco saw a woman wrestling with the boy for control of the shotgun.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The discovery raises the possibility of a grim outcome in the search for the four men, which has led to El Salvador deploying 450 special forces soldiers to Haiti as of Friday to aid the gang-fighting force in the search.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The whole idea is for Israel to keep fighting, because endless wars serve Netanyahu to maintain… a constant state of emergency.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

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

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