1
as in hissed
to make a sound like that of stretching out the speech sound \s\
with their satin costumes swishing, the little ballerinas chasséd onto the stage
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2
as in flapped
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the horse's tail swishes after every jump
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Recent Examples of swished
The video of serene waves that swished behind the curved stage at the start of Dua Lipa’s concert slowly intensified until the tide became a surge, an appropriate analogy for the pop superstar’s arrival in the US for the first time in more than three years.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
But just as Indiana was on the verge of cutting the lead to a single possession, Powers fouled Clark’s former Iowa teammate Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench and the second-year guard swished the shot to erupt the Chase Center crowd.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
Chalmers swished the wide-open corner 3, giving Miami the target score of 50 and causing a wild celebration in which his teammates mobbed him on the court.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
This reminded me once seeing an elephant with a bunch of flies on its backside getting swished away by its tail.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2025
But just as Indiana was on the verge of cutting the lead to a single possession, Powers fouled Clark’s former Iowa teammate Kate Martin on a 3-pointer right in front of Indiana’s bench and the second-year guard swished the shot to erupt the Chase Center crowd.
—Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 1 Sep. 2025
Chalmers swished the wide-open corner 3, giving Miami the target score of 50 and causing a wild celebration in which his teammates mobbed him on the court.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 26 Aug. 2025
This reminded me once seeing an elephant with a bunch of flies on its backside getting swished away by its tail.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swished
Verb
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Nineteen hours after departure the train took its final breath, hissed and braked into the historic port of Narvik.—
The Editors,
Outside,
31 Aug. 2025
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The previous week, Nini had boldly hissed at her from five feet away.—
Tao Lin,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Moytoy flapped his lips fast like an engine.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Aug. 2025
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Cunha, sitting on the turf, flapped his arms when Mbeumo failed to follow in for a tap-in.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Osaka said her fighting victory over Liudmila Samsonova in Montreal flicked a switch that lit the spark.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Sporting took the lead early thanks to Joveljic’s 15th goal of the 2025 season, a header flicked in at the near post.—
Daniel Sperry,
Kansas City Star,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For a locker room that’s been through a lot because the front office swung and missed on the worst quarterback trade in NFL history.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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Busta also received an assist from Papoose and Joyner Lucas, all of them sharing lyrical wordplay and seamless tradeoffs as Busta swung between his trademark dichotomy of rapping to gruff bellowing.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The mechanism for raising and lowering the pen made a weak clunking sound and barely twitched.—
Stephen Cass,
IEEE Spectrum,
27 June 2025
Verb
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This magnificent fruit can be candied, bobbed, picked and pied.—
Lorenza Medley,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
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The boat gently bobbed above where the divers soon would be swimming.—
Frank Witsil,
Freep.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Hope then asked to hold the pup, who has curly sandy-colored fur and wagged her tail as the 6-year-old held her in her arms (with a little help from her mom).—
Hannah Sacks,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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The pair shared curious stares and wagged tails throughout the three-hour journey, delighting those seated nearby.—
Kendall Malinchock,
USA Today,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The president starts out by making a visit to Liberty Arena to play basketball with some school children, then gets jerked away when the crisis happens.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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If Hall jerked too violently, let alone tried to run, the wire would pull the trigger, firing the shotgun Kiritsis had pointed at the back of Hall’s head.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swished. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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