as in obsessive
caused by or suggestive of an irresistible urge
a man with a driven need to be loved or liked by everyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
3
as in pushed
to apply force to (someone or something) so that it moves in front of one
drove the plunger into the opening
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in forced
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
the corrupt governor was driven out of office
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in powered
to cause to function
machinery driven by waterpower
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in moved
to set or keep in motion
this motor drives the gears, which then turn the shaft
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in raced
to proceed or move quickly
the runner drove past the finish line and then came to a dead stop
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of driven
Maressa Brown, InStyle, 1 Jan. 2026
The tally meant that the King dethroned his sister, the driven Princess Anne, who was considered the hardest-working royal family member for the last several years, per informal counts of The Court Circular.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026
What’s troubling about the drop in vaccination rates, however, is that confused — and at times contradictory — public debate around vaccines has almost certainly driven that decline.
—Josh M. Shepherd, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for driven
Adjective
And not one but two planets—taskmaster Saturn and mystical Neptune—will land in driven, competitive, fiery Aries for years to come.
—Maressa Brown, InStyle, 1 Jan. 2026
The tally meant that the King dethroned his sister, the driven Princess Anne, who was considered the hardest-working royal family member for the last several years, per informal counts of The Court Circular.
—Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025
Verb
Hate takes the wheel, and entire communities are driven over the edge — if not entire countries.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026
What’s troubling about the drop in vaccination rates, however, is that confused — and at times contradictory — public debate around vaccines has almost certainly driven that decline.
—Josh M. Shepherd, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for driven
Recent Examples of Synonyms for driven
Adjective
-
How to stop limerence Of course, recognizing that an obsessive attachment is unhealthy usually isn’t enough to make strong feelings disappear.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Season 4 focuses on the search for a missing Navajo girl, which takes Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito from the safety of Navajo Nation to the gritty terrain of 1970s Los Angeles in a race against the clock to save her from an obsessive killer with ties to organized crime.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Cisco says the platform is built to support massive AI clusters running training, inference, and real-time agentic workloads while improving efficiency and lowering operating costs.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
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In September, the preliminary revision inferred that the US economy likely added about 911,000 fewer jobs than the jobs reports initially estimated for the 12-month period running from April 2024 through March 2025.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Re-tooled with new signings, the defensive inadequacies and erratic finishing that had held the club back during his first campaign were eradicated.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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But Theobald tooled the Zephyrs’ block, pushing the Tigers over the line with a 25-22 set 4 win.—
Andrew Cornelius,
Twin Cities,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal title in October 2025 and pushed out of his vast home at Royal Lodge after reports of his association with Epstein hit a fever pitch.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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YouTube pushed back on addiction claims YouTube wasn’t originally part of the lawsuit; Kaley and her mother decided to add it after learning about the platform’s addictive qualities, Lanier said.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The defense forced three turnovers, Jason Myers kicked a Super Bowl-record five field goals, and running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for 135 yards to earn most valuable player as the Seahawks finished the season with 10 consecutive victories.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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Anutin has been prime minister only since last September, after serving in the Cabinet of his immediate predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced out of office for an ethics violation regarding mishandling relations with Cambodia.—
GRANT PECK,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Inside, the Ingenieur Automatic 40 is powered by the in-house Caliber 32111, offering a robust 120-hour power reserve—an engineering feat that mirrors the endurance and performance demanded on the track.—
Carol Besler,
Robb Report,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Accepting the award, Yeoh moved the audience with an emotional speech reflecting on her career.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
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Mission was moved from United Launch Alliance to speed up launch (ULA gets a future launch in exchange).—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The excitement is real — the first time Pastrana raced in the Daytona 500.—
Ryan Morik Fox News,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
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Inside an Irving Park bungalow, kids raced barefoot through the dining room, zooming past paper chains taped to the ceiling.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Driven.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/driven. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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