1
as in wrestling
to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery
two sumo wrestlers grappling like a pair of mammoth bears
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in grabbing
to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly
a crane grappled the sunken boat and hoisted it above water
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of grappling
Dunns still grappling with aftermath of incident Shrone Dunn is no longer a student at Riverside High School, and Visvardis no longer works there.
—
April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Legacy companies and the talent community are grappling with the rush of AI innovation, which has raised questions about copyright, transparency and future economic and workforce models.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
But grappling with what’s ahead seems futile for others.
—Toqa Ezzidin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Everyone in music, including artists, is grappling with how to use AI.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for grappling
April Quevedo, jsonline.com, 23 Jan. 2026
Legacy companies and the talent community are grappling with the rush of AI innovation, which has raised questions about copyright, transparency and future economic and workforce models.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2026
But grappling with what’s ahead seems futile for others.
—Toqa Ezzidin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Everyone in music, including artists, is grappling with how to use AI.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for grappling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grappling
Verb
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Later footage shows multiple federal agents wrestling him to the ground.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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Two members of the group can be seen wrestling with and striking The Hawk’s employees.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Thomas then appeared to quickly lunge at Leon, swiftly grabbing and lifting him up before body slamming the suspect to the ground.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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SpaceX was also famously involved in funding and operating the headline-grabbing Polaris Dawn crewed commercial mission in September 2024.—
Eric Lagatta,
AZCentral.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fatu and Rhodes took turns fighting each other and then the WWE officials.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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The Skippers kept fighting, using a 7-0 run to take a 57-55 lead with two minutes to go.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Many eventually settled in North Beach, or Little Italy, and wound up catching salmon in the summer and crab in the winter.—
Becky Duffett,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Laferriere tied the score just over two minutes later by taking Perry’s pass from behind the net and catching Hofer off the left post.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Zayn winning in Montreal after eating an RKO and a Razor’s Edge, then snatching the pin on Priest with a Helluva Kick, gave you the biggest pop and the clearest storyline payoff of the night.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
25 Jan. 2026
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Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But seizing current oil production is one thing; overhauling Venezuela's entire oil industry would be another.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
7 Jan. 2026
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Trump has occasionally discussed seizing Greenland since his first term but few initially took his threats seriously.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By capturing and using the static electricity in compressed air, this system offers a sustainable way to generate electricity while also neutralizing hazardous charges that pose safety risks.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
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Like Dostoyevsky, Capote doesn’t portray his killers as demonic ciphers, instead capturing their messy complexity.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Those eight factors are eating healthy, being active, not smoking, getting high sleep quality, and managing weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.—
Lily Hautau,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
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Uhlaender, 41, won the race in skeleton, but the manipulation kept her from getting the requisite points to qualify for the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grappling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grappling. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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