1
as in pulls
to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever
it took some effort to pry up the trap door
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in plucks
to draw out by force or with effort
a vain attempt to pry the cork out of a wine bottle
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in interferes
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
don't go prying into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 pries
Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
The show’s biggest laugh may come when Testa pries open Costanzo’s mouth and pronounces just how many performances of Norma Galas has left.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Could this be the year Johannesburg pries visitors away from Cape Town with a cool new city hotel and a dynamic dining scene, or when sunseekers take another look at Mauritius instead of the Maldives?
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2023
Verb
There are swooping close encounters with heavenly bodies, Lego blocks in antigravity mode and swarms of Separators, a sort of astro-anthropomorphic version of the tool that pries apart Lego bricks in real life.
—Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Feb. 2026
The show’s biggest laugh may come when Testa pries open Costanzo’s mouth and pronounces just how many performances of Norma Galas has left.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
Could this be the year Johannesburg pries visitors away from Cape Town with a cool new city hotel and a dynamic dining scene, or when sunseekers take another look at Mauritius instead of the Maldives?
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pries
Verb
-
Coming to the glum realization that love isn’t outlasting infatuation is trickier to write about than a more incendiary subject like unfaithfulness, but Rodrigo pulls it off.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
12 June 2026
-
In the end, an inexperienced minor – who has no idea who hired them – pulls the trigger.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
His torso and thighs grow eye-poppingly muscular beneath their skimpy fur-and-leather togs—a development that does not go unnoticed by a warrior named Red Hair, who plucks the young hunk from his post and tosses him into the prime time of the gladiator pit.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
-
But the emotional gravity of this offering's deeply personal, melancholic lyrical content plucks an undeniably profound chord that uniquely separates it from the rest of his work.—
Chris Barilla,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
This act interferes greatly with local departments of planning and development for erroneous climate protocols enacted by Ronald Regan.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
-
This is where Earth’s atmosphere interferes least.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the government argued that barring a regular pot smoker from having a gun is permissible under the Constitution because the restriction lifts as soon as someone stops using drugs.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
-
July 23 – August 22 This morning lifts your confidence beautifully forward.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
This process extracts the melon’s precious juice and preserves its vivid color.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
17 June 2026
-
Like Fernando Alonso and once upon a time, Sebastian Vettel, Hulkenberg often extracts more out of the car than anyone would expect.—
Jerry Perez,
The Drive,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
In it, Grace can be seen playing a racing game while the Mallrats creator pokes fun at her driving skills.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander apparently isn’t amused by a new board game that pokes fun at the Oklahoma City Thunder star’s reputation for garnering foul calls at the hint of contact by an opposing player.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Like a false note on an out-of-tune piano, a clunky verb, a sentence without rhythm, yanks the reader out the flow of the work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
-
Maden takes thee wine bottle from him and the officers reach for his wrists but Brown resists and yanks his arms back, the video shows.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
From pet hair to crumbs, this Shark handheld cordless vacuum cleaner can tackle messes large and small, thanks to strong suction and a self-cleaning brush that resists pet hair accumulation.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2026
-
Like that series, this movie messes with your mind by taking full advantage of creepy backroom spaces.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pries.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pries. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
