as in to curl
to follow a circular or spiral course
a narrow road spiraling up the mountain to the summit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in winding
turning around an axis like the thread of a screw
a spiral staircase takes visitors up into the Statue of Liberty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiral
Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 3 Apr. 2025
The awkward exchange quickly went viral, and ultimately spiraled into a disaster.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025
Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 28 Mar. 2025
This is the wrong time of the year to let something spiral.
—Danny Emerman, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
Strange forms poured out of her—big looping flowers, organic spirals, cubes of contrasting primary colors.
—Jay Cheshes, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiral
Verb
Farfetch also fell victim to certain events beyond its control including Russian sanctions, China’s long road out of lockdown, and spiraling inflation and interest rates.
—Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 3 Apr. 2025
The awkward exchange quickly went viral, and ultimately spiraled into a disaster.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
The spiral galaxy being wrapped or lensed around the elliptical galaxy appears to be stretched and warped into a ring, with bright blue lines drawn through it where the spiral arms have been stretched into circles.
—Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 28 Mar. 2025
This is the wrong time of the year to let something spiral.
—Danny Emerman, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
This milk frother wand has a 13,000 rpm motor and 25 spiral rings for whisking milk into a creamy microfoam.
—Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2025
Strange forms poured out of her—big looping flowers, organic spirals, cubes of contrasting primary colors.
—Jay Cheshes, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiral
Verb
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It’s packed with curling memorabilia and jokey artifacts: pin badges, curling stone statues, a Worst End trophy (complete with protruding horse’s butt), strategy whiteboards, and a sign revealing the Scottish Curler’s Grace.—
Tim Chester,
AFAR Media,
16 Apr. 2025
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On Sunday, April 13, the TikToker posted a video of her applying makeup, having her hair curled and dressing in all black for the funeral, which took place less than one week after Campbell announced Elliana had died.—
Zoey Lyttle,
People.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Sedona Prince has had a winding journey toward the 2025 WNBA Draft, where she’s expected to finally join the league in April after a seven-year college odyssey.—
Sabreena Merchant,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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The entry pathway is suspended over a pool of lotus flowers, followed by a mystical winding road shaded by the canopy (where a chase scene was filmed), and the open-air lobby which overlooks the resort’s statement design piece: a long pool filled with floating lotuses.—
Anna Haines,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Yamamoto snapped off a flurry of big-bending curves, generating four whiffs on 11 swings.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2025
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Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which is used to describe the gravity of black holes, uses a single field equation to explain how space curves and matter moves.—
Lyndie Chiou,
Wired News,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
How to clean air fryer coils Cleaning the air fryer basket and rack is only part of the job.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2025
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Males pour by the thousands from the depths of the limestone caverns, coiling over rocks and one another in a slow-motion frenzy of courtship.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The brand was recognized for using its knowledge to understand how trash can be used as part of a circular sustainability ecosystem for future automobiles.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
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The circular dots found near the center of the fossil indicate that a predatory marine reptile called a mosasaur took some bites of it.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The curves and whorls of the 3,000-pound bronze monument evoke billowing sails, crashing waves, and, more abstractly, two hands reaching toward each other.—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside Online,
25 Mar. 2025
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The areas had large pieces of Middle and Late Iron Age pottery, as well as other cooking vessels and a spindle whorl.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The winding two-lane road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
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For a man with his name up in lights this often, much of Merino’s winding path to cult hero at the age of 28 — via stints at Osasuna, Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle United and, most notably, Real Sociedad — has remained in the dark.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Nelson’s team can use its magnets to control a helical microrobot with magnetic fields of less than 10 millitesla, a fraction of what’s created in an MRI.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
1 June 2015
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Unlike standard laser beams that propagate straight, vortex beams twist along their axis, creating a helical wavefront with a distinct ‘null intensity’ region at the center.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiral. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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