1
as in perching
to come to rest after descending from the air
a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in descending
to come down from something (as a vehicle)
as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of alighting
The colors are richly saturated, and when something catches Ryan’s eye—say, a bee alighting on a wildflower—the images shimmer with an almost radioactive intensity.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Say each word was a bird—alighting briefly, out of reach and then gone again.
—Leila Chatti
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
The second was to build what amounts to a nonflammable moat around a home to prevent embers from alighting on anything next to a house that could burn and ignite the structure.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Sound of Falling skips back and forth through time, alighting on moments of both horror and grace across a century in the lives of four women—adolescent and adult—inhabiting the same unsettled spaces.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Say each word was a bird—alighting briefly, out of reach and then gone again.
—Leila Chatti
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
The second was to build what amounts to a nonflammable moat around a home to prevent embers from alighting on anything next to a house that could burn and ignite the structure.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Sound of Falling skips back and forth through time, alighting on moments of both horror and grace across a century in the lives of four women—adolescent and adult—inhabiting the same unsettled spaces.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alighting
Verb
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Other photos show it while perching on the plant.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
-
TikTok users were able to see two cats perching over a bathroom sink, which had been filled with tap water.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The trail stays level early on and crosses the road a couple of times before descending through a grove of Arizona cypress to a shallow drainage.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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The Senate’s negotiations on reopening the government are descending into another impasse.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk — who knows a little something about landing a 900 — congratulated Ovechkin on the milestone.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
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Aziz Ansari's directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, Sandra Oh, and Ansari himself, is heading for home release this week, landing on platforms like Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Google, and YouTube from November 7.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The new cleat should be particularly appealing to racers – who need to snap back in as quickly as possible after dismounting – and to riders who are intimidated by the learning curve involved in using clipless pedals for the first time.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Before disembarking, Karl is greeted by his immigrant uncle, Edward Jakob, whom the cook had notified of his impending arrival.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Oct. 2025
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Passengers who’d fallen ill on the Serenade of the Seas were isolated, disembarking separately upon arrival.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Alighting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alighting. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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