Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A contradiction has tugged at American presidential history for 130 years.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2022

Science reporter Jacob Margolis tweeted that the last message scientists received from Oppy was "basically 'My battery is low and it’s getting dark,'" which has tugged at many heartstrings.

From Salon • Feb. 14, 2019

The dynamic between the particular and the universal, what Weisman terms the tribalists and the internationalists, has tugged at Jews for centuries.

From Washington Post • Mar. 23, 2018

The disparity has tugged away at the communal ethos Disney hoped to foster.

From Economist • Dec. 20, 2016

So the musician who reaches the spirit of Bach has, by the attunement of his thoughts and his aspirations, crept into the heart of the music and has tugged at the musician's heart-strings.

From Spirit and Music by Hunt, H. Ernest