Thesaurus results for TUSSLING

tussling

verb

present participle of tussle

as in wrestling

to seize and attempt to unbalance one another for the purpose of achieving physical mastery puppies tussling with one another, rolling over and over on the carpet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 tussling Michigan is looking for a more complete performance after tussling with UTEP through the first half last week. — ABC News, 25 Sep. 2026 The video depicts a group of students engaged in horseplay, progressing to two 15-year-olds tussling and laughing, according to the suit. — Eric Peterson, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026 But for those who find (and in some cases may be slightly mystified as to why) that there is a nagging, needling value to Schrader’s ongoing project of tussling with grandiose dilemmas of transgression and deliverance, there is some new news here. — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026 He was seen dancing at San Diego Comic Con, getting arrested in Times Square, giving out free hugs on the Santa Monica Pier, and tussling with an AMC employee over a bag of popcorn. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2026 Two people with divergent intuitions about what’s normal, or endurable, can end up tussling over the same territory. — Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 15 July 2026 There’s nothing like it—the sun shining, a warm breeze tussling your hair, waves rushing onto the shore, and breathing in the fresh, salty air. — Susan B. Barnes, Southern Living, 14 July 2026 The sheriff's office released body camera footage showing a 30-second clip of Rivas tussling with the alligator. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 9 June 2026 Two boys tussling over a bladder in a three-foot-high canvas painted by Joseph Wright of Derby in the late 1760s snarl up in a whirlpool of pain, each twisting the other’s right ear. — Julian Bell, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tussling

Verb

Benjamin Satterley, known to wrestling fans around the world as Pac, died last month of bronchial asthma, the medical examiner’s office in Cook County, Illinois, confirmed Friday.

— Rudy Chinchilla, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026
Inside the school Giamanco saw a woman wrestling with the boy for control of the shotgun.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of wrestling

Verb

Rather than fighting strict local regulations head-on, companies like Waymo, Zoox, and Aurora are prioritizing states with explicit legislative preemption that prevents individual cities from banning the technology.

— Andrew Hawkins, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
The procedure had already been approved, and everyone involved understood that my doctor had spent months fighting to secure authorization.

— Scott Levenson, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of fighting

Browse Nearby Words

tussles

tussling

tut

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Tussling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tussling. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of tussling

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

compunction

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'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'?

Popular in Wordplay

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?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes