as in flows
to move or proceed smoothly and readily
a pop star brushing past a crowd of autograph seekers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in kisses
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing
spiderwebs brushed her cheek as she walked through the basement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brushes
Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026
What Nexgrill brushes are being recalled?
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Our Top Makeup Brush Sets When the brushes are thoughtfully designed—think soft, dense fibers and sturdy handles—blending tends to be easier, and your makeup looks that much more polished.
—Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 27 Mar. 2026
With longer roots and succulent adaptations, these brushes crowd out the native grasses and further shrink grazing habitat.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Its hot water wash dissolves stubborn grease on the mop pads, while its specialized Curv design prevents long hair from tangling around the brushes.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
Vargas is painting freehand with brushes on an extremely textured surface.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
And as artists will, the damning revelations will be used to fuel communal creations to process and heal, to elevate whatever message artists produce with their brushes, pencils and instruments.
—Anissa Rivera, Daily News, 20 Mar. 2026
Typical choices for novelists are notebooks, pens, and laptops, while conservators use brushes, scalpels, and fine sandpaper.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Jazmine Hughes, Allure, 24 Mar. 2026
When some chime in to say their doctors had been cautiously optimistic about treatments, Sarah brushes that aside.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
At the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Commander Tommy Nester finds it behind the ceiling panels, brushes it off the uniforms that aren’t behind glass and sweeps it from the baseboards of the main hall.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
See how his head brushes the sky.
—Roey Leonardi, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
Elizabeth Scott brushes off the comparison.
—Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
If someone does bring up his teary picture, Wallake brushes it off.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 21 Dec. 2025
Judy brushes him off and leads the way to Cabin Twelve.
—Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025
With this new insight in hand, Carol brushes herself off and heads back to the hospital to visit Zosia and ask her directly if there’s any way to reverse the Joining.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2025
Noun
Cleaning these areas typically requires a mix of tools, including manual skimmers, brushes, and robotic cleaners.
—Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 27 Mar. 2026
What Nexgrill brushes are being recalled?
—Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Our Top Makeup Brush Sets When the brushes are thoughtfully designed—think soft, dense fibers and sturdy handles—blending tends to be easier, and your makeup looks that much more polished.
—Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 27 Mar. 2026
With longer roots and succulent adaptations, these brushes crowd out the native grasses and further shrink grazing habitat.
—Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 26 Mar. 2026
Its hot water wash dissolves stubborn grease on the mop pads, while its specialized Curv design prevents long hair from tangling around the brushes.
—Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 25 Mar. 2026
Vargas is painting freehand with brushes on an extremely textured surface.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
And as artists will, the damning revelations will be used to fuel communal creations to process and heal, to elevate whatever message artists produce with their brushes, pencils and instruments.
—Anissa Rivera, Daily News, 20 Mar. 2026
Typical choices for novelists are notebooks, pens, and laptops, while conservators use brushes, scalpels, and fine sandpaper.
—Literary Hub, 19 Mar. 2026
Verb
Tokyo Stylez, Cardi’s hairstylist, brushes out a sleek brown hairpiece, and Erika la’ pearl, her makeup artist, dabs at Cardi’s face while the rapper scrolls through her phone, controlling the music.
—Jazmine Hughes, Allure, 24 Mar. 2026
When some chime in to say their doctors had been cautiously optimistic about treatments, Sarah brushes that aside.
—Gerald Witt, AJC.com, 1 Mar. 2026
At the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Commander Tommy Nester finds it behind the ceiling panels, brushes it off the uniforms that aren’t behind glass and sweeps it from the baseboards of the main hall.
—Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
See how his head brushes the sky.
—Roey Leonardi, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2026
Elizabeth Scott brushes off the comparison.
—Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
If someone does bring up his teary picture, Wallake brushes it off.
—Alex Harring, CNBC, 21 Dec. 2025
Judy brushes him off and leads the way to Cabin Twelve.
—Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025
With this new insight in hand, Carol brushes herself off and heads back to the hospital to visit Zosia and ask her directly if there’s any way to reverse the Joining.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushes
encounters
Noun
-
When the El Paso Sector was logging more than 50,000 migrant encounters per month in late 2023, under President Joe Biden, the Big Bend Sector saw roughly 1,500.—
Lauren Villagran,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Sometimes the encounters are fatal, as in the cases of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis — both American citizens killed by federal agents while out observing immigration enforcement actions.—
Leila Fadel,
NPR,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brushes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushes. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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