penning 1 of 2

verb (1)

present participle of pen
as in enclosing
to close or shut in by or as if by barriers remember to pen up the dogs when visitors come over

Synonyms & Similar Words

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penning

2 of 2

verb (2)

present participle of pen
as in writing
to compose and set down on paper the words of though relatively unknown at the time of his death, the composer had penned some of the most memorable show tunes of his era

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 penning
Verb
Marsh was an early champion of Springsteen, writing about him for Creem magazine and penning his first Rolling Stone cover story in 1978. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026 After penning Carl Reiner’s 1978 comedy The One and Only starring Henry Winkler, Steve Gordon was hired to direct his own Arthur script for Orion. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2026 Former first-round NBA draft pick Enes Kanter Freedom has made good on his promise to declare for next year's WNBA Draft, officially penning a letter to the league on Monday. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Anthony also was a novelist, penning the books Keeping Secrets, Telling Lies, Deadly Stuff Players, One Last Deadly Play and Last Call for a Deadly Diva. — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2026 Meyers and Olyphant’s talk-show rapport dates back several years, with Olyphant penning his own introductions on Late Night multiple times. — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026 In the beginning, there was Molière (1622—1673), a popular French playwright known for penning comedies like Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and Les Fourberies de Scapin, and often acting in them. — Lonnie Burstein Hewitt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2026 In addition to writing and acting on the series, Oddie wrote all the music including co-penning the show’s theme song. — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 27 July 2026 Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is penning the screenplay. — Zack Sharf For Variety, Robb Report, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for penning
  1. enclosing
  2. writing
  3. housing
  4. including
  5. confining
  6. encasing
  7. surrounding
  8. caging
Verb
  • Homes can be visually inspected for compliance from the outside, and enclosing the ground level area for living space after the home is constructed and approved for occupancy would draw a reverse work order.
    — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Soon after, more people gathered, standing behind the sad but necessary fence enclosing the resilient tree, out of respect, curiosity or simple gawking.
    — David Dickstein, Oc Register, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of enclosing
Verb
  • During an interview with THR in May, Panettiere also opened up about the challenges of delving into her childhood and relationship with her mom when writing This Is Me.
    — Carly Thomas, HollywoodReporter, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Sheinbaum, writing on X early Saturday, expressed her disapproval of Rocha Moya’s decision to return as governor of northwestern state.
    — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of writing
Verb
  • Crucially, Cursor gains unparalleled access to xAI's vast GPU infrastructure, including the Colossus data center housing 200,000 Nvidia GPUs, with plans for a massive expansion to 500,000.
    — John Werner, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Plaintiffs' attorney Alexander Shalom argued that housing the plaintiffs in a segregated unit violates their constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 July 2026
Definition of housing
Verb
  • The house sells most of its Champagne in European markets, including Britain, Belgium, Italy and Spain, as well as in West Africa, with smaller volumes going to the United States and Asia, Bonnet-Gobillard said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Hernandez was released the same day on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond with certain conditions, including not to operate any boats or vessels.
    — Martin Goillandeau, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of including
Verb
  • Current state policy makes clear that schools should only consider physically restraining a student or confining them to a room away from others in emergency situations where a student is at risk of harming themselves or others.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • For much of our history, few options existed between mass institutionalization in expensive and confining facilities on one end of the spectrum, and fully independent living absent any supports on the other end of the spectrum.
    — Barbara Merrill, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of confining
Verb
  • The spigots serve as injection ports, where crews can pump grout behind the tunnel wall, with the goal of coating and encasing the entire tunnel lining under the Newtown Creek in a waterproof layer, filling any cracks along the way.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026
  • The denim du jour is all about giving your legs some room to breathe instead of encasing them in snug fabric.
    — Tanya Sharma, InStyle, 10 July 2026
Definition of encasing
Verb
  • Additional details surrounding the circumstances of the crash or identity of the person who died was not provided.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The Mob Museum in Las Vegas has been fielding questions and debunking misinformation surrounding the case for years, said Geoff Schumacher, the museum’s vice president of research, collections and programs.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of surrounding
Verb
  • None of the people involved in caging the fawn were identified, according to the release.
    — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2026
  • The type of tomato plant and whether it is supported with staking or caging factors into spacing.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
Definition of caging

Browse Nearby Words

penniless
penning
pennon
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Cite this Entry

“Penning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/penning. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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