swirling 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of swirlingnext
as in spiraling

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

swirling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of swirl
1
as in stirring
to cause (as a liquid) to move about in a circle especially repeatedly kept swirling her lemonade until the ice had melted and it was completely watered down

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in rotating
to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis swirled her skirts as she danced the tango

Synonyms & Similar Words

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swirling
  1. stirring
  2. rotating
  3. spiral
Verb
  • Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook uncovered without stirring.
    Kelly Brant, arkansasonline.com, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Add the 3 ½ tablespoons butter and, stirring continuously, cook until the caramel reaches 238 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes more.
    Kelly Brant, arkansasonline.com, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of stirring
Verb
  • Another group did some more tests of fox skulls, adding a rotating motion to the plunge.
    Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 27 Dec. 2024
  • From her senior international debut in 2016 through her role as a rotating winger and full back on the 2019 World Cup-winning squad, most of that dialogue centered on her potential.
    Jeff Rueter, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of rotating
Adjective
  • Arrange spiral side up in the prepared skillet, placing the roll so that the loose end is touching the side of the skillet or the roll next to it.
    Kelly Brant, arkansasonline.com, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Geneva Moore’s therapist pulled out her spiral notebook.
    Maya Miller, ProPublica, 31 Dec. 2024
Definition of spiral
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near swirling

swirled

swirling

swirls

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Swirling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swirling. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on swirling

Nglish: Translation of swirling for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of swirling for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.