LIMPING Synonyms: 87 Similar and Opposite Words

limping 1 of 2

noun

as in exhaustion

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

limping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of limp

as in shuffling

to walk while favoring one leg she limped all day after stubbing her toe on the lawn sprinkler

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbling

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually the damaged boat limped back into port

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dragging

to move slowly we'll have to stop limping if we are ever going to make our destination in time

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 limping

Noun

While many symptoms overlap between species, Koehler says dogs commonly develop lethargy, fever, limping, stiff or swollen joints, pale gums, bruising, or abnormal bleeding. — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 15 July 2026 In recent days, young Knicks fans have been made to digest from their dreary Boomer elders heavy doses of old-timey hoops lore, but mainly about the 1970 title series, featuring Willis Reed’s limping, yet noble appearance in Game Seven, his injured leg shot up with painkillers. — David Remnick, New Yorker, 14 June 2026 Carter did not look good limping off the practice field. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 8 June 2026 With the Bulls’ season limping toward a finish and the transfer portal opening tomorrow, Chapel Hill clearly didn’t want to wait. — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026 The chopper flew across New York harbor and landed at a Manhattan heliport, where Maduro, limping, was loaded into an armored vehicle. — Michael R. Sisak, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026 South Carolina wide receiver Nyck Harbor scored on an 80-yard reception in the second quarter and ran into the tunnel limping following the play. — CBS News, 16 Nov. 2025 Springer fell to the ground in pain and was eventually helped off the field limping. — Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2025 Once off the field, Burrow was observed limping in the tunnel of the stadium with no shoe on his left foot. — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 14 Sep. 2025

Verb

The couple soon realized Apex had a bandage on his left shoulder and was still limping. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026 Dart was eventually escorted to the locker room, limping there under his own power. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026 The 24-year-old Williams was limping badly as he was helped off the field. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026 Los Bravos are limping into things a bit, with a 7-8 record in September. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 18 Sep. 2026 With the end of the regular season two weeks away, Aaron Boone is limping to the finish line. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 14 Sep. 2026 The excitement turned to worry quickly as Darnold came up limping after a third-down sack by Dre’Mont Jones on the first drive. — Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026 The Seattle Seahawks had barely unveiled their 2025 championship banner when quarterback Sam Darnold started limping. — Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026 The excitement turned to worry quickly as Darnold came up limping following a third-down sack by Dre’Mont Jones on the first drive. — ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for limping

Noun

It is better understood as a symptom of political exhaustion and vulnerability following years of division, economic hardship, and war.

— Michael Robbins, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2026
The Touring’s heated and ventilated leather seats and lumbar support helped keep exhaustion at bay.

— Robert Duffer, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of exhaustion

Verb

At the end of all that immersiveness, exiting out onto the physical street to join the crowds of shuffling tourists and fend off sullen Elmos makes Times Square feel like the soul of authenticity.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026
An offseason filled with roster shuffling continued Tuesday for the Charlotte Hornets, who completed a three-player deal with Atlanta to land another guard with perimeter shooting potential.

— Staff reports, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of shuffling

Verb

Unlike every other film genre, the history of horror, at least since the 1950s, is a story of amateurs stumbling in the dark.

— Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
Instead of stumbling like the Phillies and Cubs, the Padres surged and took with them the #1 Wild Card spot, earning the right to host this series.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of stumbling

Verb

But an owners representative claims that part of the problem was Erica and Peter dragging their feet on providing backup documents for their application package.

— Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
Another video shows two men beating and dragging a man into a car.

— Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragging

Noun

With morale flagging as the war in Europe drags on, the 6888th is sent abroad to clear 17 million pieces of mail that are sitting undelivered, creating a lifeline to families back home and keeping our soldiers going.

— K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 25 Sep. 2026
Warships may board vessels suspected of piracy, slave trading, statelessness or false flagging.

— John Calabrese, The Conversation, 6 July 2026

Definition of flagging

Verb

The biggest concern for LSU's defense was the sight of linebacker Whit Weeks hobbling to the locker room in a walking boot after an apparent ankle injury.

— ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Judge could be seen grimacing on a check swing during the third inning and hobbling in the outfield during the fifth inning.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of hobbling

Verb

In many such cases, Pennington says, parents will want to give each child an equal inheritance to be fair, but also worry about how the struggling child will fare upon receiving a sudden inheritance.

— Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2026
Each episode, the brutally honest Ramsay comes in to help the struggling restaurant fix its problems or its negative image, and in turn the restaurants get publicity from being on a national television show.

— Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of struggling

Verb

Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
Traffic cameras showed that northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper and crawling along I-35 before being detoured from the highway.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of crawling

Browse Nearby Words

limpidness

limping

limpness

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Limping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/limping. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of limping

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

inscrutable

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

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

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

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes