STRETCHING Synonyms: 140 Similar and Opposite Words

stretching 1 of 2

noun

as in extension

the act of making longer excessive stretching can cause the fabric to tear or lose its elasticity

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Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in exaggeration

the representation of something in terms that go beyond the facts your constant stretching of the truth is going to get you in trouble someday

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stretching

2 of 2

verb

present participle of stretch

as in exaggerating

to add to the interest of by including made-up details it was stretching the truth to say she'd been in the movies: she was once an extra whose scene was cut in the final version

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pulling

to injure by overuse, misuse, or pressure I stretched a back muscle, and the pain is killing me

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as in lengthening

to make longer the time it would take to fix the car got stretched from three hours to two days when the part we needed had to be ordered

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as in trying

to subject (a personal quality or faculty) to often excessive stress your whining is stretching my patience to the limit

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as in tightening

to draw tight if the canvas isn't properly stretched over the frame, there will be sagging over time

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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 stretching

Noun

Other days included yoga and stretching, catching hundreds of balls on the Jugs machine or recovering at Kollective, a social performance club in Austin. — Sam Jane, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2026 Daily laundry service after a day spent hiking, stretching, and sprinting is a welcome bonus. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026 Then the team broke for stretching, and the coach went down the line asking how everyone felt. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026 Lüst and his colleagues’ proposal, meanwhile, requires slightly more stretching of the imagination to be plausible. — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026 This is where your warm-up becomes most specific to your needs, and where generic stretching and movement most often fall short. — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026 Options include playing soft music when work ends, taking a mindful shower focused on water and breathing or doing five to 10 minutes of gentle stretching. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026 The newest campus parties trade the keg for wellness activities like group runs, cold plunges, HIIT, yoga, Pilates and stretching. — Ashley Lynch, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2026 Before the Rams went through stretching exercises, Donald sat on a red exercise ball, taking in the scene and focusing his thoughts for the workout ahead. — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026

Verb

Enter the extrait de parfum, a fragrance with concentration beginning at around 20 percent and stretching as high as 60 percent in some cases, versus typically 15 to 20 percent for an eau de parfum. — Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026 The Fantasy Bra has a long history, stretching back 30 years. — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2026 The center of the low is expected to impact North Carolina and Virginia, with effects stretching up to coastal New Jersey and down to Florida. — Robin Webb, Sun Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026 For Cyrus, that’s meant stretching the boundaries of pop music and, by proxy, pop stardom. — Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 17 Oct. 2026 Skies will remain mostly clear this weekend across Northern and Central California as winds continue to flow out of the northeast offshore, allowing for warm temps in the 70s and 80s stretching deep into the Bay Area and along the coast. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026 The broader planning area covers nearly 800 acres, stretching from Alameda Avenue to Colfax Avenue and from the South Platte River to Santa Fe Drive. — Jasmine Arenas, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 The sliders and yokes offer a wide range of fit adjustments, easily stretching to accommodate an adult head. — Mark Knapp, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026 Erected on a hillside in 1938, Fallingwater appeared as a matrix of rectangles with low and flat horizontal lines stretching across the planes of the house. — Wendy S. Walters, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stretching

Noun

There is a precedent — this idea is an extension of one that is already law.

— Sarah Cannon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
The topic of a contract extension came up during the season for the first baseman who led the team with 35 home runs.

— LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of extension

Noun

Hours at a time isn’t an exaggeration, especially since the 14S lasted a jaw-dropping 38 hours and 29 minutes in our video testing, which is the kind of endurance coffee shop dwellers can only dream about.

— Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
While that’s an exaggeration by Cole’s lofty standards, one thing is certain with the playoffs nearing.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of exaggeration

Verb

Attorneys who represent officers that have sued the department over whistleblower retaliation dismiss the claim by Chief Jim McDonnell and others that some cops are exaggerating their claims in pursuit of a big payday.

— Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
The South Korean military, which often accuses North Korea of exaggerating its military capabilities, did not immediately comment on Kim's claims.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of exaggerating

Verb

Safe haven demand temporarily outweighed inflation fears, prompting capital to exit risk assets and flow into the Treasury market, thereby pulling yields lower.

— , CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Through July, O’Hare held a cash advantage of $707,000 to Simmons’s $67,000, with his campaign pulling $135,000 from oil and gas companies alone.

— Rachel Royster. Produced with AI assistance, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of pulling

Verb

Cryptographers responded by lengthening the keys, and 2,048 bits is now considered the minimum.

— Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026
The Lorenzo can be worn two ways, with or without a fine leather strap threaded through the gold Eye of the Needle, which can be buckled across the foot to create a leg-lengthening effect.

— Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of lengthening

Verb

That’s more than double the rate in 2021, just before the Federal Reserve embarked on an aggressive tightening cycle to rein in inflation.

— Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
Higher debt-servicing costs can reduce a project’s feasibility by tightening project margins.

— Jill Jones, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of tightening

Noun

Conversations around racial caricature have evolved; what was edgy feels painfully passé.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
As is the case with most election cycles, the claims and counterclaims about the ballot measures being voted on in California this time around are largely based on caricatures of the measures themselves.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026