1
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily
flooded residents who were forced to trudge through waist-deep water
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
no expert on taxes, I spent the whole weekend trudging through government forms
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of trudging
Wroblewski began trudging through the snow with his luggage to Hughes’ actual home.
—
Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
The bus drivers do nothing to enforce the rules, and we seniors are left trudging down the bus aisle while the people in the seats smirk, look at their phones and talk to each other.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
The rest of our fair crew is trudging along through broken wrists and CT scans.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
The hill sits off a dirt road and takes a bit of trudging up before the dimpled geodes start appearing in earnest.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, Paramount has shown little inclination of quietly trudging off into the sunset, as was made clear by the complaints the company’s attorneys lodged yesterday.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Dec. 2025
To get there, the Norwegian explorers navigated the interminable snowfields of interior Antarctica, trudging through the harshest climates on earth for 56 days.
—Brad Japhe, HollywoodReporter, 25 Oct. 2025
While the federal government shutdown has been trudging along, a cottage in the Grand Canyon Village has provided for those in need following weeks of no pay and a devastating wildfire.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Michael Russo, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2026
The bus drivers do nothing to enforce the rules, and we seniors are left trudging down the bus aisle while the people in the seats smirk, look at their phones and talk to each other.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026
The rest of our fair crew is trudging along through broken wrists and CT scans.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
The hill sits off a dirt road and takes a bit of trudging up before the dimpled geodes start appearing in earnest.
—Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, Paramount has shown little inclination of quietly trudging off into the sunset, as was made clear by the complaints the company’s attorneys lodged yesterday.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 5 Dec. 2025
To get there, the Norwegian explorers navigated the interminable snowfields of interior Antarctica, trudging through the harshest climates on earth for 56 days.
—Brad Japhe, HollywoodReporter, 25 Oct. 2025
While the federal government shutdown has been trudging along, a cottage in the Grand Canyon Village has provided for those in need following weeks of no pay and a devastating wildfire.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
In the engaging trailer that continues the sinister tale of Vault-Tec, The Ghoul arrives in New Vegas alongside Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and Dogmeat, trudging into the outskirts of New Vegas.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trudging
Verb
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Bridgerton treats it as though every woman got multiples of their yearbook photo to hand around as headshots, and Benedict’s taking what would have been treasured personal heirlooms and just shuffling through them and tossing out anyone with the wrong hair color.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Silvia showed them little affection or attention, shuffling quickly through the infants to feed, change, or hold them.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Reports of stumbling, slipping on the ice or just the indignity of having to yield to a robot were among common complaints submitted, Robertson said.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Feb. 2026
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The latest trailer finds Mario and Luigi stumbling upon the green lizard in a spooky cave.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Han will be posted up by the Milennium Falcon and/or Oga’s Cantina, Luke will be stomping his Chanel boots in the marketplace, and Darth Vader will be force-choking dads in Grumpy tees.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
14 Jan. 2026
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Then there’s the people watching, from the tailgating to the communal divot stomping, full of dramatic sun dresses and hats with flourishes, seersucker suits and, yes, hats with flourishes.—
Eric Barton,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Bear, struggling with drug addiction, had no one urging her to fight the state’s case.—
Raynee Howell,
Oklahoma Watch,
9 Feb. 2026
-
He’s trapped in rolling crises of his own making and is struggling to sell voters on the idea of a strong American economy.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trudging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trudging. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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