surpassing 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of surpassingnext
as in extraordinary

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

surpassing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of surpass
1
as in exceeding
to be greater, better, or stronger than she always tried to surpass her older brother at anything he did

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in transcending
to go beyond the limit of the sales of the band's newest CD have surpassed the combined sales of its last two albums

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 surpassing
Verb
The 2024 edition marks the highest tally of all time, greatly surpassing Barack Obama’s previous record of 95,894 pages. — Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024 The movie Wicked has officially become the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in box office history, surpassing the movie musical Mamma Mia. — George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 31 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surpassing
  1. extraordinary
  2. exceeding
  3. supreme
  4. eclipsing
  5. superlative
  6. huge
  7. main
  8. terrific
Adjective
  • Unlike many younger trees, this tree exhibits extraordinary adaptations.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
  • Barry has had an extraordinary coaching journey, considering his playing experiences took him no higher than League One, the English game’s third division.
    — Simon Hughes, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
Definition of extraordinary
Verb
  • Enterprises in stages three and four, on the other hand, had financial performance well above industry average — exceeding 10 percentage points.
    — Joe McKendrick, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Crocs business continues to demonstrate strong overall performance, with a Q3 operating margin exceeding 25%, an impressive metric for a footwear company.
    — Trefis Team, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of exceeding
Adjective
  • Federal agents found photos of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s supreme leader that had been deleted in a folder on Alawieh’s cell phone, a source familiar with the case told CNN.
    — Andy Rose, CNN, 20 Mar. 2025
  • But this year, the roundball — not the pigskin — reigns supreme.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of supreme
Verb
  • Penn State has been an elite run defense all season, with only three teams rushing for more yards against the Nittany Lions this season than Boise State did — USC, Ohio State, Oregon — and only one other individual running back eclipsing 100 yards.
    — Justin Williams, The Athletic, 3 Jan. 2025
  • But now, with two games to play, the Philadelphia Eagles running back is 268 yards from eclipsing the mark of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who set the league record of 2,105 with the Rams in 1984.
    — Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of eclipsing
Adjective
  • Therefore, superlative labels and exclamations are rarely helpful and can harm.
    — Tim Maurer, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
  • The character animation is of a truly superlative quality reminiscent of the Disney animators in the 1940s who used to study animals at length in learning how to draw them.
    — Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2025
Definition of superlative
Adjective
  • Last year saw a huge uptick in tornadoes later in the spring and activity continued through December, with nearly 2,000 tornado reports in total.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
  • But if the Nets aren't interested in signing Randle, where would that huge contract come from? Randle's teammate, Naz Reid, figures to decline his $15.0 million player option and re-sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves, which could further complicate Randle's decision matrix.
    — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of huge
Adjective
  • The president has touted these tariffs as a way to help the US government rely less on income taxes as a main form of revenue.
    — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Sean Penn co-stars as the film’s main villain, a steely-eyed colonel who looked pretty frigging scary in the footage, while Benicio del Toro is DiCaprio’s gun-toting, gonzo comrade.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 2 Apr. 2025
Definition of main
Adjective
  • The terrific cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.
    — Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Alexis Rynders, Glen Rose Alexis Rynders, a 5-foot-10 Tarleton State commit, has had a terrific career, earning TABC All-Region honors in four varsity seasons.
    — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2025
Definition of terrific

Browse Nearby Words

surpasses
surpassing
surpassingly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surpassing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surpassing. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on surpassing

Nglish: Translation of surpassing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
kestrel
Name That Bird Quiz Are you as wise as an owl or just another birdbrain?
See All