as in greedy
having or marked by an eager and often selfish desire especially for material possessions
a grasping person who would rather buy a car he didn't need than give a dime to charity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in understanding
to have a practical understanding of
he just doesn't grasp how important it is that he call when he'll be late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in clasping
to put one's arms around and press tightly
the departing soldier grasped his children a little closer than usual
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in holding
to reach for and take hold of by embracing with the fingers or arms
the attendant grasped my arm and steered me towards the door
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in knowing
to have a clear idea of
the emergency operator finally grasped what he was trying to tell her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of grasping
Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2025
Multiplied across numerous markets in every state, the LIHTC fuels more and more grasping for cash instead of reductions to make housing easier to create.
—Roger Valdez, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Unlike most other camp movies, this one isn’t about preserving and revering childhood, but the sloppy, grasping, wonderful transition to adulthood.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 May 2024
Adjective
The imperial Presidency: Designs on Greenland, promises to take back the Panama Canal, threats of tariffs on countries ranging from Colombia to Taiwan—how did a President who once pledged isolationism become so grasping?
—Ian Crouch, The New Yorker, 28 Jan. 2025
Multiplied across numerous markets in every state, the LIHTC fuels more and more grasping for cash instead of reductions to make housing easier to create.
—Roger Valdez, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Unlike most other camp movies, this one isn’t about preserving and revering childhood, but the sloppy, grasping, wonderful transition to adulthood.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 May 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grasping
Adjective
-
When Sue becomes greedy with her time, exceeding seven days on the outside, Elisabeth suffers the consequences, and things take a dark and twisted turn.—
Samantha Stutsman,
People.com,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Forget the greedy streamers: leave the job of filmmaking to people who care, to people like Corbet and Eisenberg, Fargeat and Zilbalodis.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Waterproof mascaras rely on film-forming copolymers, which help with flexibility, holding the eyelash's curl, and boosting temperature resistance.—
Sarah Han,
Allure,
24 Dec. 2024
-
Shakespeare, affectionately known as ‘Two Balls Shakey’ because of his penchant for holding a ball under each arm in training and during warm-up drills, contributed hugely to two promotions from League One in 2009 and the Championship in 2014, the great escape of 2015 and the 5000-1 title success.—
Rob Tanner,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Still, companies are eager to force folding screens into more types of devices, with the tech already expanding from phones to PCs and monitors.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
6 Mar. 2025
-
Businesses weren’t hiring as much, folks weren’t as eager to quit and those without jobs were staying on the sidelines for longer.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Neither Evil Steve Jobs nor his mercenary lackey are given much of a motor and oppressive presence.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Since invading Ukraine, Putin has regularly invoked old arguments about Russia’s imperial role in the world, yet his references amount to a mercenary patchwork.—
James Verini,
The New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
For a very long time, other nations have been sizing up California with a covetous eye.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Those include a daffy retriever, a headstrong capybara, a covetous lemur and a mysterious bird, as well as glimpses of more fantastical creatures.—
Jack Smart,
People.com,
5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Wiseman’s documentaries won’t ever earn blockbuster money or inspire franchises, the mark of success in the film world, and there’s no merch to purchase or brand sponsorship tickling the acquisitive part of your brain.—
Alissa Wilkinson,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Federation rivals ITV Studios and Fremantle are both rumored to be on the block, while Banijay remains acquisitive and newer players like North Road are part of this evolving conversation.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
As a result, men are the default for everything from calculating drug doses to recognizing heart attack symptoms to designing and testing car safety features.—
Eva Epker,
Forbes,
28 Dec. 2024
-
There is an obvious tension between celebrating the city’s birthday and recognizing the painful and violent genocide that paved way for the city’s formation.—
Joe Baker,
New York Daily News,
28 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
This nation state, my home, is built on a quagmire of lies sold to the young as truths; sold to the insecure as truths; sold by the avaricious, the power-hungry, the conceited, the overwhelmingly white and male.—
Christine Winter,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2025
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Pearce plays Van Buren as hungry and avaricious even in his kinder moments, a man of immense wealth whose primary desire is to own more and more.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grasping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grasping. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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