swash 1 of 2

1
as in to splash
to move with a splashing motion waves gently swashing against the shore

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to slosh
to cause (something liquid or mushy) to move along in sheets every bump in the road swashed a little more of my soda on the car's upholstery

Synonyms & Similar Words

swash

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of swash
Verb
Mole crabs burrow themselves in the intertidal swash zone but leave their antennae exposed above the surface to trap food like algae and plankton. Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025 This cushiony highlighter deposits a swash of subtle champagne, rose quartz, or gold while the squalane (the secret star of the show) provides moisture for a long-lasting look that provides a skin-like, never cakey, finish. Anamaria Glavan, Allure, 5 Oct. 2024 The dessert menu is just as backward-looking (or, more generously, classic-minded) as the savory offerings: cheesecake with a swash of berry sauce, dark chocolate pot de crème. Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 30 June 2024 Glow Set a travel necessity—perfect for quick makeup touch-ups, passing through TSA, or a shimmering swash of color. Kiana Murden, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2021 Hollywood’s history is rich with swash-buckling scenes. Allison Prang, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2021 Some big trout are still in the swash on the beach at dawn, though this action will slow as the water continues to warm—topwaters get them. Frank Sargeant, al, 18 June 2021
Noun
Recurring character Goro Majima swashes his buckles as the sole protagonist, taking to the seas having suffered from an almighty case of pirate amnesia. Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swash
Verb
  • With a monochromatic look Forget a pop of red—why not splash yourself in the color?
    Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Other ways to stimulate the vagus nerve include cold exposure, like splashing cold water on your face or taking a brief cold shower.
    Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The death of Banda Amidst the torrents, Arisu follows the sound of Usagi’s voice, as they are both swept towards a watery vortex that leads to the world of the dead.
    Kayti Burt, Time, 26 Sep. 2025
  • But a new technology blasted past these limitations and unleashed a torrent of creativity on the web.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Bader, a Gold Glove center fielder who is among MLB’s top outfielders in OAA (six) and DRS (14), has brought stability and swagger.
    Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
  • The energy was palpable, as Cardi commanded the crowd with equal amounts of humor and swagger.
    Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Word of Starbucks cafe closures is rippling across Southern California, with social media posts and letters in café doorways alerting customers that their coffee stop is soon to be no more.
    Samantha Gowen, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Lifestyle factors like diet, exercise, sleep, and stress change our epigenetic patterns, and those changes ripple out to influence the microbial community within our bodies.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Charlie got into the shower, letting the hot water sluice off the rest of the blood on her back and whatever had dried in her hair.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Mauna Lani staff still manage the ponds in the traditional way: Ocean tides bring fish in through a series of wooden sluice gates.
    Samantha Dunn, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Even before she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska (2002), the 95-year-old actor had been a go-to Everygrandma, doling out enough geriatric sass to make the Golden Girls bow down yet doing so in the most polite, Midwestern way imaginable.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
  • In fact, this year’s most playful trend is all about sparkle and sass.
    Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • For many years, the lake level was maintained at 290 feet, which is about 40% capacity, 25 feet below the spillway level of 315 feet.
    Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The Nicasio proposal calls for modifying the spillway gates at Seeger Dam, which was constructed on Nicasio Creek in 1960 to create the reservoir.
    Adrian Rodriguez, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Call it resilience, call it infrastructure, call it economic development—just build it before the next 8-year-old goes to sleep in a floodway.
    Daniel Lehewych, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Corey Waldrop, who owns the property and is developing it under his company Motiv Ventures, plans to reclaim some of that floodway and the adjacent floodplain.
    Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Swash.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swash. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

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