GRASPING Synonyms: 179 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'grasping' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of grasping are acquisitive , avaricious , covetous , and greedy . While all these words mean "having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions," grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means. // a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates

Q: When is it sensible to use 'acquisitive' instead of 'grasping'?

The synonyms acquisitive and grasping are sometimes interchangeable, but acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep. // an eagerly acquisitive mind

Q: When could 'avaricious' be used to replace 'grasping'?

In some situations, the words avaricious and grasping are roughly equivalent. However, avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess. // an avaricious miser

Q: When might 'covetous' be a better fit than 'grasping'?

The words covetous and grasping are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions. // covetous of his brother's country estate

Q: Where would 'greedy' be a reasonable alternative to 'grasping'?

The meanings of greedy and grasping largely overlap; however, greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire. // greedy for status symbols

grasping 1 of 2

adjective

ˈgra-spiŋ

Definition of grasping

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

grasping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of grasp

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

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

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

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

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective grasping differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of grasping are acquisitive, avaricious, covetous, and greedy. While all these words mean "having or showing a strong desire for especially material possessions," grasping adds to covetous and greedy an implication of selfishness and often suggests unfair or ruthless means.

a hard grasping businesswoman who cheated her associates

When is it sensible to use acquisitive instead of grasping?

The synonyms acquisitive and grasping are sometimes interchangeable, but acquisitive implies both eagerness to possess and ability to acquire and keep.

an eagerly acquisitive mind

When could avaricious be used to replace grasping?

In some situations, the words avaricious and grasping are roughly equivalent. However, avaricious implies obsessive acquisitiveness especially of money and strongly suggests stinginess.

an avaricious miser

When might covetous be a better fit than grasping?

The words covetous and grasping are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, covetous implies inordinate desire often for another's possessions.

covetous of his brother's country estate

Where would greedy be a reasonable alternative to grasping?

The meanings of greedy and grasping largely overlap; however, greedy stresses lack of restraint and often of discrimination in desire.

greedy for status symbols

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 grasping

Adjective

My hope is tenuous, grasping; scar tissue from 108 years of futility is never fully salved. — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2026 In this war lawyers invariably are depicted as soulless and grasping ambulance-chasers unconcerned about their clients’ welfare, and businesses as, well, soulless, grasping and unconcerned about their customers. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026 The grasping big toe also suggested this human relative spent more time in the trees. — CBS News, 26 Nov. 2025 The father, Fyodor Karamazov, is a grasping, lecherous, deceitful, and shameless widower. — Karl Ove Knausgaard, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2025 Engineers still struggle to replicate a grasping human hand, or the hand-eye coordination of a human brain. — Natan Linder, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 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

Verb

Many Marylanders would rather be enjoying the autumn season and adapting to new routines instead of grasping the full implications of an overtly partisan law. — Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2026 That there was grasping profit-seeking by private-sector grocery stores. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026 By combining grasping and touch sensing into a single soft device, future robots could be trained to perform much more complex and demanding tasks than simply washing the dishes. — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 20 July 2026 Cole has always been too ideologically fluid, grasping onto belief systems and people to serve to provide missing meaning to his life, but his embrace of nihilism makes perfect sense. — The Editors, Vulture, 17 July 2026 The recorded force patterns were later replayed to teach the robot to repeat successful grasping motions autonomously. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026 In any case, the scheme shaping the film’s stakes is introduced from the get-go, in a sultry opening credits scene where the camera glides over curly telephone cords and grasping hands in close-up. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 11 July 2026 The moniker was assigned to Trump by Kurt Andersen and Grayden Carter’s Spy Magazine in 1988 as a sardonic stab at his attention grasping drive. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 8 July 2026 In 1973, scientists at Waseda University in Tokyo built WABOT-1, considered the first full-scale humanoid robot and capable of slow bipedal locomotion, grasping objects and simple communication. — Tim Hornyak, IEEE Spectrum, 4 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for grasping

Adjective

One of Nader’s grandsons, Shah Rukh, was tortured by a greedy court eunuch named Agha Muhammad to force him to reveal the location of the invaluable diamond.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 17 Aug. 2026
That detail — and revelations that Mangione’s private writings lambasted health insurers as greedy, according to authorities — made the case a fulcrum for debate about the industry and made Mangione a cause célèbre for some of its critics.

— Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of greedy

Verb

Congressman Jeff Hurd, who represents Colorado’s Third District, said the project could put quantum technology to work in understanding domestic resources.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026
For fellow author Marissa Stapley, Telfer’s book is key to understanding why con artists are seen as intriguing — an idea Stapley explored in her 2021 novel, Lucky.

— Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of understanding

Verb

But that’s not what Parkinson wants from his holding players, as shown by James being 84th in the same metric.

— Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
In a hearing on Wednesday, a judge ruled that Iron Mountain must hand over any physical devices holding the data, Current reported today.

— Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of holding

Verb

After games, watch out for the players craving french fries at Newbury Park and knowing someone to seek out who can help.

— Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026
The Chiefs’ running game was so listless that defenses ignored fake handoffs and instead retreated to defend the pass, knowing the consequences of guessing wrong weren’t all that punishing anyway.

— Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of knowing

Adjective

Penguin Random House, largest seller of books, and most eager to sell them best, testified in court that the sales of only 4 percent of its books effectively subsidized the rest.

— M. C. Mah, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
The race has already inflamed tensions within the Democratic Party over how to energize liberal voters eager for unapologetic, combative candidates while not alienating independents and moderates who have been key to winning in battlegrounds.

— Matt Brown, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of eager

Verb

The dress in question was an inky black number that featured a delicate lace bodice, a super plunging neckline with a layer of sheer fabric, a figure-hugging silhouette, and an opaque floor-grazing skirt.

— Christina Perrier, InStyle, 14 Aug. 2026
On the final day of shooting, Chandrasekhar remembered that everyone was hugging each other goodbye.

— Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of hugging

Browse Nearby Words

grasped

grasping

graspingness

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“Grasping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grasping. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of grasping

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verb

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