Pushing

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈpʊʃɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The method of exerting force to displace an object while also describing a social or emotional drive to encourage progress or advancement
2. The action of applying pressure to move something away along with the metaphorical sense of motivating change or progression in various contexts
3. Applying physical pressure to shift an object forward or away ; encouraging or striving to advance a situation or goal

Etymology: The verb "push" reaches English from the Latin "pulsare," meaning "to beat or strike," a frequentative of "pellere," "to drive." That single Latin root spawned a family of English words that look unrelated: "pulsate" and "pulse" entered English directly from the same source and are called doublets of "push," because they are the same word arriving by different routes. The pathway for "push" ran through Old French "poulser" and Middle French "pousser," which carried the sense of hitting or driving forward into Middle English as "pushen," "poshen," and "posson." English already had a verb for the same action. Old English "sċūfan," meaning to shove, survived for centuries alongside the newcomer, and it eventually gave Modern English "shove." Its sense of the action has barely changed: the French loan kept the idea of strong, forward force, while the native word narrowed to a more physical sort of shoving.

Synonyms: shoving, propelling, thrusting, driving, forcing

Antonyms: pulling, retracting, withdrawing, stopping, ceasing