to verge

Examples

• All

• Yet in the midst of a longing that verged on grief, Beverly could not hold back a smile.

  Fiction book (2002)

• This verges on failure.

  Robot Monster (1953)

• This may work, might verge on a little light, but we'll make it go.

• Could verge on just bad.

  The Magician of Lublin (1979)

• In the books that draw on his childhood, the sexual material can verge on the creepy.

  Academic text (2010)

• But I'll, I'll verge into other renewable energy as well.

• If Brian ever saw that, it's verging on cheating.

• Fighting in parts of the country among rival black political factions now verges on civil war.

  Academic text (1993)

• Rita laughed, but it was a laughter that verged on tears.

  Fiction book (1993)

• Moira was staring at me with a solemn intensity that verged on anger.

  Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

C

to come close

vsto verge

72 2.9

To be almost as good as something in quality or amount

emphasizes closeness to being or achieving rather than exact equality

B

to border on

vsto verge

30 5.2

To be almost an extreme or bad state

expresses general closeness without implying undesirability

A

to approximate

vsto verge

14 4.6

To be nearly the same as another thing

means close to becoming or almost being something not numeric similarity

V

to verge on

vsto verge

4 5.6

To be almost in an extreme or bad state

is close in general and not confined to extreme or negative states

C

to come near

vsto verge

2 3.0

To almost do or experience something without doing it

refers to being close in state or quality not only near actions

Idioms

O

on the verge of

144 3.8

Very close to doing or feeling something

Phrasal Verbs

V

to verge on

4 5.6

To be almost in an extreme or bad state

How Close

on the brink of

52 4.5

to verge

6 5.1

to border on

30 5.2

to near

115 1.0

to approach

532 2.1

Surface Forms

Etymology