as in shrill
having a high musical pitch or range
the whistling sound of missiles as they sped toward their targets
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whistling
Adjective
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On shrill winter nights, Moscow’s power is conspicuous, its Orthodox cathedrals and Stalinist high-rises illuminated, though the view falls dim in the autumn and spring, shrouded in sheets of greige.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026 -
The chaos is still an acceptable price to pay for Birney’s expertly offputting performance, a shrill mania that gets increasingly comic over time.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Since October, her youngest, now 7, has been coughing and wheezing a lot, especially at night.—
Lisa Song,
ProPublica,
7 May 2026
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Many of the cats were underweight with bones showing, and some suffering from respiratory infections were wheezing and had discharge around their eyes and noses.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Mature geese have kept a close eye on the eggs, occasionally honking and hissing at those who have approached.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
28 Apr. 2026
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He was later woken up by a hissing sound and noticed a flame on the floor of his bedroom.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The motionless people drooling on the sidewalk, the Waymos whooshing around with no one inside.—
Sam Kriss,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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But the screams of pain were unmistakable, picked up a number of times by the microphones placed around the course, which usually deliver the evocative whooshing sounds of skiers hurtling down the slopes at speeds that feel inhuman.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Dollop whipped cream over panna cotta and spread, swooshing decoratively as desired.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Somehow, two sequels have materialized to update the swooshing neon visuals and cartoony renditions of a virtual world.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Whistling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whistling. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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