as in fretting
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in boiling
to cook in a liquid heated to the point that it gives off steam
stew the chicken till tender, and then remove the meat from the bones
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in worrying
to experience concern or anxiety
stop stewing over that game and just try to do better next time
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stewing
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2026
Short cooking preparations of okra, such as frying or sauteeing, release less mucilage than long ones, such as stewing.
—Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Jan. 2026
Not so Wolverhampton Wanderers or West Ham United, who really are stewing in their own juices.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
After two-plus days of stewing over the no-show against the Rockets, including a team meeting on Saturday and a rare Sunday morning shootaround, the Lakers found themselves in the second quarter, with Doncic scoring 15 of his 24 first-half points in the period for a 68-53 halftime lead.
—CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
Add the stewing beef and cook until the meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently.
—Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 11 Dec. 2025
There is nothing this pot can’t do—braising, baking, stewing, frying.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
It’s been more than a week and people are still stewing about it.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
Right now, Combs is still stewing in the MDC, but he is expected to be moved to a cushier and more low security facility in the NYC area in the near future.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
After nine episodes spent stewing in suspicion, the CBS legal drama has released the tension from one of its biggest secrets and forced Julian into action.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 Feb. 2026
Short cooking preparations of okra, such as frying or sauteeing, release less mucilage than long ones, such as stewing.
—Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Jan. 2026
Not so Wolverhampton Wanderers or West Ham United, who really are stewing in their own juices.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
After two-plus days of stewing over the no-show against the Rockets, including a team meeting on Saturday and a rare Sunday morning shootaround, the Lakers found themselves in the second quarter, with Doncic scoring 15 of his 24 first-half points in the period for a 68-53 halftime lead.
—CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
Add the stewing beef and cook until the meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently.
—Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 11 Dec. 2025
There is nothing this pot can’t do—braising, baking, stewing, frying.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
It’s been more than a week and people are still stewing about it.
—Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2025
Right now, Combs is still stewing in the MDC, but he is expected to be moved to a cushier and more low security facility in the NYC area in the near future.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stewing
Verb
-
Add eggs to a pot of already boiling water.—
Sarah Jampel,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
31 Mar. 2026
-
When all are well mixed, pour on the boiling Ale by degrees, beating up the mixture continually; then pour it rapidly backward and forward from one jug to another, keeping one jug raised high above the other; till the flip is smooth and finely frothed.—
Jay R. Brooks,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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How can other young women and girls who wants to be creators online push through that embarrassment and stop worrying about what other people are thinking?—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
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But the start of the war in Iran has many European leaders worrying about a deeper break within NATO.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a fine, touching performance, however, from Showko Showfukutei as Hana’s loving but fretful mother, desperately concerned for her daughter’s well-being but inclined to show love only through unrequired domestic service.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2026
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The quintessential late-’80s teen, Ryder here plays a fretful mom.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
27 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Drop the bag right into simmering water.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
31 Mar. 2026
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There is so much strategy simmering in every inhale before the action.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Perhaps one, or all, of her kids, fretting over their independent-minded mother, had advised her to get it.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
1 Apr. 2026
-
This is too early to spend much time fretting over Bichette.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Freezing the landscape in time is what the people of Vermont, and not merely tourists, want, but it’s also left residents with a vexed regard for visitors.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Brooding in the historical background are the plantations, the vexed issue of where the money comes from that underwrites all this charm, these impeccable manners, this unsteady gaiety.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Stewing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stewing. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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