plodding 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of ploddingnext
1
as in relentless

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2
as in ambling

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plodding

2 of 2

verb

present participle of plod
1
as in laboring
to devote serious and sustained effort plodded night and day to get the assignment done

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2
as in stumbling
to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually oxen plodding through deep mud

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3
as in dragging
to move slowly plodded reluctantly off to work

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4
as in shuffling
to move heavily or clumsily wayfarers plodding across the sandy wastes

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plodding
  1. relentless
  2. laboring
  3. shuffling
  4. unremitting
  5. heavy-footed
  6. struggling
  7. trudging
  8. persistent
Adjective
  • Feeling defeated, Kitty gets a pep talk from Min Ho, who reminds her of her relentless spirit and determination.
    Jordana Comiter, People.com, 18 Jan. 2025
  • Sports High School Sports Four reach double figures to lead Cavaliers, who get a strong finish from senior guard Kam Carter UPDATED: January 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM EST Spalding senior guard Kam Carter sealed a win over St. Frances with two relentless finishes at the basket in the closing minutes.
    Glenn Graham, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2025
Definition of relentless
Verb
  • New York police on Monday were trying to determine why someone set a woman ablaze board a train in Brooklyn in a fatal attack drawing outrage from city and state leaders who have been laboring to make the trains safer.
    John Bacon, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Earlier this year the agency adopted new heat protections that apply to indoor workers, expanding safety measures for more than a million workers laboring in warehouses, kitchens, laundry rooms and other hot indoor settings.
    Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of laboring
Verb
  • But the $12 billion decline in his fortune has more to do with asset shuffling than stock price movement.
    Julie Goldenberg, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
  • James has been shuffling back and forth between the NBA and the G League.
    Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of shuffling
Adjective
  • As with the best Australian horror films, Wolf Creek viscerally captures the unremitting nastiness of the subject matter.
    Declan Gallagher and Chris Bellamy, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Gaza is uniquely isolated—governed for the past seventeen years by Hamas and subject to an unremitting blockade by Israel.
    Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
Definition of unremitting
Adjective
  • Carlson had just a 43 percent touchback percentage last season with Green Bay. Shanahan, however, is not inclined to bring aboard a heavy-footed kicker to simply get touchbacks.
    Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2024
  • For all those who grouse that this is an overreaction to Hunter working over undersized and heavy-footed Bison, that’s fair.
    Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2024
Definition of heavy-footed
Verb
  • California and Stanford ventured to the opposite coast for the first time, both struggling in the Eastern time zone.
    Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Ordinary Americans also work for league media arms such as the NFL Network, which last year conducted layoffs, or their partners, including regional sports networks that are struggling to keep pace.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Jan. 2025
Definition of struggling
Verb
  • They were left operating on fumes by the end, with Ollie Watkins — Duran’s replacement — starved of service and Morgan Rogers consigned to trudging off the pitch, knowing his long dribbling bursts would have scant options ahead of him.
    Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
  • Standard time brings more sunshine to earlier hours, insuring that children are not trudging to school in cold-weather darkness.
    David K. Li, NBC News, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of trudging
Adjective
  • The modern spam email is a persistent nuisance in the way that flies are a nuisance at a barbecue.
    Nathan Pettijohn, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
  • After aggressive rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, the Fed began easing its stance late last year but has projected only two rate cuts in 2025, down from four earlier estimates, citing persistent inflationary pressures.
    Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of persistent
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near plodding

plodders

plodding

ploddingly

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Cite this Entry

“Plodding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plodding. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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