behaving 1 of 2

adjective

as in behaved

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behaving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of behave
as in carrying
to manage the actions of (oneself) in a particular way if the children behave themselves properly and sit quietly during church, they'll get their ice cream afterward

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 behaving
Verb
Tamra’s story line with Vicki and Shannon is the only one that doesn’t have to do with children, though a few of them are behaving like children. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 24 July 2026 Regardless, men behaving in a repulsed or shocked way when a man dresses feminine or in women’s clothing is homophobic. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026 Tyler’s catalog is behaving differently, as each week appears to be busier than the last as listeners continue to mourn her. — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 And some tourists give the rest a bad name by behaving badly, even destructively. — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 20 July 2026 Equally noteworthy, but far less known, is the resort’s firm policy on how to handle guests behaving badly. — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026 If that happens, future AI systems could span multiple racks while behaving as a single computing domain, connected via a mix of electrical, optical, and perhaps other emerging technologies. — IEEE Spectrum, 9 July 2026 But while Molner didn’t notice Couric behaving unusually, an intern told him that his wife wasn’t feeling well. — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 9 July 2026 The current demand for wine, though, is behaving a lot like today’s appetite for art. — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 8 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behaving
  1. behaved
  2. carrying
  3. orderly
  4. acquitting
  5. conducting
  6. handling
  7. restraining
  8. composing
Adjective
  • Forget about the ill-behaved, performative fans hoping to go viral on TikTok for unseemly behavior.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 14 June 2026
  • For families There are a couple of (very well behaved) babies here during my stay, but no kids dive-bombing the pool, and the stairs around this maze of a property aren’t particularly stroller friendly.
    — Sarah Leigh Bannerman, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Jan. 2026
Definition of behaved
Verb
  • That was part of his wider goal of sending endless waves of bomb-carrying drones and robots to hit Russian encampments in a bid to sharply reduce Ukraine’s casualties.
    — Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Then in April, one of the company’s ships was passing Puerto Rico between two other jobs while carrying an advanced underwater drone with the right sensors to find the plane.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of carrying
Adjective
  • The murder leaves the villagers uneasy and forms the first crack in their orderly lives.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 July 2026
  • The students get permission from the schools to draw on the blackboards in advance, reflective of Japan’s conformist orderly culture.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 July 2026
Definition of orderly
Verb
  • Jurors at his 2025 murder trial deliberated for weeks before acquitting him on one murder count and failing to reach a verdict on another murder count.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2026
  • Observers say the jury’s 10-2 vote in favor of acquitting Jonathan Rinderknecht was a major blow to Essayli’s office.
    — Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of acquitting
Verb
  • Austin police are conducting a criminal investigation with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, as well as an administrative investigation through their internal affairs unit, police said in a news release.
    — Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
  • According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by USA TODAY, deputies with the Porter County Sheriff's Office found Gregory Dolnics dead on July 26 while conducting a welfare check at the Valparaiso home where the two lived.
    — Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Definition of conducting
Verb
  • The demonstration highlights how humanoids could take over repetitive material-handling tasks while fitting into existing industrial workflows.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 27 July 2026
  • And the two meteorologists working that night were handling multiple incidents at once.
    — Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 27 July 2026
Definition of handling
Verb
  • Videos and images from the scene showed a fire with a plume of smoke and bright orange flames near a building entrance, as well as law enforcement officers restraining the suspect.
    — Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026
  • Videos and photos from the scene showed a fire with a plume of smoke on the sidewalk outside the building, as well as officers restraining a person and taking them away.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of restraining
Verb
  • Emmy-winning composer David Fleming (Widow’s Bay, Superman, HBO’s The Last of Us) was also revealed as the game’s composer, marking his video game composing debut with the main title theme, Logan, now available on all music platforms.
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 23 July 2026
  • The dots composing the words move up the screen while the rest of the pinpoints move downward, generating a visual opposition that the human mind can detect and discern.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 16 July 2026
Definition of composing

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Cite this Entry

“Behaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behaving. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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