harps (on)

verb

present tense third-person singular of harp (on)
as in emphasizes
to speak or write about insistently and usually tiresomely there were so many good things about the stage production that it seems churlish to harp on a couple of minor missteps

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harps (on)
  1. emphasizes
  2. stresses
Verb
  • The piece emphasizes that Californians, especially Democrats and independents, strongly favor voting by mail and already rely on it at very high rates, suggesting that restricting mail ballots would disenfranchise large numbers of lawful voters.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • New research into the interior of Mars further emphasizes that the Red Planet is a world of two very different halves.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of emphasizes
Verb
  • The report stresses how Kansas City is a relatively small sports market compared to the rest of the country.
    — Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • This test places stresses on the edge far beyond typical EDC tasks.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of stresses
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.

Browse Nearby Words

harpoons
harps (on)
harpy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Harps (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harps%20%28on%29. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All