GRUMBLING Synonyms: 92 Similar and Opposite Words

grumbling 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of grumbling

as in complaining

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

grumbling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of grumble

as in screaming

to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely he grumbled about how sore his feet were after standing all day

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in rumbling

to make a low heavy rolling sound heavily loaded trucks grumbling as they passed over the steel bridge

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 grumbling

Verb

Voters are not going to make legislators do a better job by grumbling and complaining. — Scott Warren, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 Know More Waters is one of a number of senior members of Congress that fellow Democrats are grumbling about in private for being delinquent on their dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 1 Oct. 2026 Hollywood is filled with book-to-screen adaptations that have ignited grumbling and spirited debates. — Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 There was no fussing and fighting and grumbling or anything like that. — Scott Talley, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2026 There was, unshockingly, grumbling around several of these expansions, too. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 17 Aug. 2026 Aside from social media posts complaining about the war’s fallout and some grumbling from oligarchs about the Kremlin seizing their assets, there are still no signs of any widespread popular unrest against Vladimir Putin’s regime. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026 To do so, the chain has invested in labor and renovations to its coffee houses, earning some grumbling from investors. — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 29 July 2026 Drummer Jay Russell kept to stark rattles, Sam Shipstone patched in his scratchy electric guitar, and Ryan Needham needled through grumbling basslines. — Victoria Borlando, Pitchfork, 24 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grumbling

Adjective

An energy vampire has bad body language, the complaining look on their face, the vocal complainer.

— Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026

Definition of complaining

Verb

At an intersection in Hyde Park that, days earlier, had been the scene of chaos — a young girl on the ground, a car with a teenage boy on the windshield, a mother screaming — Jonathan Hale led his band of rebels.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Someone who people think is abrasive and is screaming ‘Love me,’ but punching people at the same time.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of screaming

Verb

Listen closely to the sound design and hear jets continually rumbling to and from LAX.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
And Quentin Collette’s turbulent soundscape — rumbling, clanking, with the unrelenting downpour stirring in elemental fury — mixes seamlessly with the tense synth riffs of French electronic composer Robin Coudert, known professionally as ROB.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rumbling

Verb

While the left spent all week whining about Sophie Cunningham's hat and firing squad best practices, us PATRIOTS were biding our time, keeping our heads down, and grinding towards another weekend.

— Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Dogs may actually improve our sleep habits by forcing us to adjust to consistent bedtime schedules — as anyone with a sleepy, whining dog can confirm.

— Gina Vivinetto, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of whining

Verb

Dogs and cats may be triggered by this distinctive smell and show unusual behavior when skunks are nearby, such as sniffing or pawing the dirt around the burrow or becoming more protective by growling or hovering near the entrance.

— Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 24 Sep. 2026
Video captured from the drone’s perspective and released on Facebook, shows the frustrated bobcat standing by a staircase, growling and arching its back at the hovering machine.

— Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of growling

Verb

It's been a big few months for Austin Abrams moaning and groaning his way through some of the worst situations imaginable.

— Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
For a cold moment the silence locked a grip on our table, though it was broken, at the edges, by the golf commentators moaning and harrumphing, Rory McIlroy having had a canary on a seventeenth fairway somewhere this championship Sunday.

— Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of moaning

Browse Nearby Words

grumbles

grumbling

grump

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Style

“Grumbling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grumbling. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of grumbling

adjective

verb

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