studying

verb

present participle of study
1
as in researching
to use the mind to acquire knowledge you'll have to study hard and learn all about the Revolutionary War in order to pass the history test

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in learning
to commit to memory having carefully studied the document, he could repeat what it said exactly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in contemplating
to give serious and careful thought to scientists who study the origin of the universe

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 studying During the season, officials spend more than 30 hours a week studying video and the rulebook, according to the NFL. — Preston Fore, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 Junior Kelsey Chandler, who is studying to become a private pilot, said the program has pushed her outside of her comfort zone. — Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 Researchers are studying whether blocking it can clear away damaged, aging cells while helping healthier cells survive. — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Microdroplet chemistry Min’s lab has spent years working on microdroplet chemistry, studying how water broken into tiny droplets behaves at its boundary with air. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 The company is already studying ways to manipulate orexin activity in another form of narcolepsy, and a condition in which people feel excessively sleepy during the day, even after a full night’s sleep. — Alice Park, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 But biologists in Maine studying salmonids like native brook trout and lake trout discovered a concerning amount of soft plastic lures in their stomachs. — Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026 There’s work coming out of our group here in Amsterdam led by Vasilis Kokkoris, who’s an incredible geneticist in many ways studying mycorrhizal fungi. — Quanta Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026 However, studying familial genetic predispositions can help elucidate how lung cancer develops and lead to new biomarkers for early cancer detection in high-risk groups. — Estelamari Rodriguez, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for studying
  1. researching
  2. learning
  3. contemplating
  4. reading
  5. memorizing
  6. pondering
  7. analyzing
  8. debating
Verb
  • Collins, the study's lead author, was researching ways to protect corals from pathogenic bacteria found on plastic.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Anyone researching a hair transplant in Turkey in their twenties should read a clinic’s willingness to advise waiting as a sign of quality rather than a lost sale.
    — William Jones, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of researching
Verb
  • Rilke writes about solitude, love, patience and learning to live with uncertainty.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The program provides training in barista skills, espresso brewing, earning a food handler’s license, learning point-of-sale systems, customer service skills, food prep and other more general workplace skills.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of learning
Verb
  • For eight days in April, along the rocky coastline in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the new president of Georgetown University spent time at a Jesuit retreat center, quietly contemplating the task before him.
    — Sophia Solano, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The offer came at a time when Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and many other public school districts in Florida, have closed or consolidated schools and are contemplating even more closures.
    — Austin Horn, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of contemplating
Verb
  • Continue reading … FUGITIVE DELIVERED — FBI brings back suspect accused of stealing $600K in federal food stamp benefits.
    — , FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The poetry world in the city is multifarious and energetic, with waves of practitioners reading, listening to, and publishing one another.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of reading
Verb
  • Ah yes—in addition to memorizing lines and choreography, Hiddleston and Atwell were both reckoning with sleep deprivation and toddler tantrums.
    — Zing Tsjeng, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of memorizing how to navigate a trading platform, an investor of any experience level can now simply describe an objective in plain language.
    — John Bartleman, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of memorizing
Verb
  • Newsom, who is pondering a 2028 presidential campaign, and the two men vying to replace him — Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton — oppose it.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • In the stands, fans murmured beneath their breath, wondering what new math the Kiffin’s successor could be pondering.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of pondering
Verb
  • The terminology shift arrives as NASA continues expanding its use of AI across missions and research programs, from autonomous Mars rover navigation to models capable of analyzing enormous amounts of scientific data.
    — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Next, Hollands is planning to keep analyzing more white dwarf star spectra, with advances in scientific techniques meaning that researchers will be able to look at a new tranche of stars that are even farther away from Earth.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of analyzing
Verb
  • The Presbyterian seminary student made the comment while debating legislation related to transgender people participating in school sports.
    — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Agree On Decision Criteria First Agree on the decision criteria before debating the decision.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of debating

Browse Nearby Words

study
studying
stuff
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fervid

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
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
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All