as in flowing
to move or proceed smoothly and readily
a pop star brushing past a crowd of autograph seekers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in kissing
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing
spiderwebs brushed her cheek as she walked through the basement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of brushing
Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
As a guest, Monroe was likely brushing elbows with other old Hollywood stars like Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
Phillies star Bryce Harper was live-streaming from the bathroom and started brushing his teeth.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026
Boiled water should also be used for cooking, brushing your teeth, making ice and preparing food.
—Andre Butso, AJC.com, 22 May 2026
Simple habits like brushing off debris, drying cushions after storms, and giving them occasional deep cleans can prevent much bigger problems later in the season.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 22 May 2026
New York — American shoppers are brushing off higher gas prices and finally spending money at Target again.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
The Bruins would benefit from brushing Joonas Korpisalo’s $3 million average annual value off their books.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The scribble art was placed right in the bend of her knee, with some of the design just barely brushing her lower thigh.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 11 May 2026
Verb
The sisters, brushing their teeth, speak telepathically, inner thoughts printed in caption text across the screen.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
As a guest, Monroe was likely brushing elbows with other old Hollywood stars like Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor.
—Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
Phillies star Bryce Harper was live-streaming from the bathroom and started brushing his teeth.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026
Boiled water should also be used for cooking, brushing your teeth, making ice and preparing food.
—Andre Butso, AJC.com, 22 May 2026
Simple habits like brushing off debris, drying cushions after storms, and giving them occasional deep cleans can prevent much bigger problems later in the season.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 22 May 2026
New York — American shoppers are brushing off higher gas prices and finally spending money at Target again.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
The Bruins would benefit from brushing Joonas Korpisalo’s $3 million average annual value off their books.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 15 May 2026
The scribble art was placed right in the bend of her knee, with some of the design just barely brushing her lower thigh.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brushing
Verb
-
The money keeps flowing into AI infrastructure, which will support the earnings of companies like Dell, HPE, and the chipmakers.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
-
But details aren’t exactly flowing yet.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Back then, Elordi was seen kissing Kidman’s hand, and the two attended the same afterparty.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
26 May 2026
-
On April 8, Jonas shared a photo on Instagram of himself kissing Malti on her head.—
Lexi Lane,
PEOPLE,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
As the train climbs higher, sweeping mountain and valley views unfold on both sides, and in the colder months, skiers and snowboarders can be seen gliding down the slopes below.—
Lauren David,
Travel + Leisure,
29 May 2026
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Its SpaceShipTwo was to be launched from mother ship WhiteKnightTwo, then rocketed into space at Mach 3 before gliding back.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
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Fairley also admitted Thursday to placing wagers and recruiting and bribing college basketball players to underperform in games in a separate NCAA point-shaving case brought by federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania.—
Tom Winter,
NBC news,
28 May 2026
-
The people who stand to gain the most from this record-setting refresh rate are high-level competitors with PCs that can push extremely high frame rates, for whom shaving down the smallest fractions of latency can make a real difference.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 May 2026
Verb
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The main event, though, is the ski room—where ski butlers furnish guests with state-of-the-art skis before sliding them onto the slicked Jardin Alpin piste with or without an instructor.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
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Kleven had been an accomplished ski jumper in his home country, and when he was spotted sliding down and flying off ramps in Sugarbush, Vermont, he was recruited to be a stunt performer.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
This suggests that enterprises are no longer satisfied with AI chatbots gently nudging increases in productivity.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
-
Whether financial or professional, something is nudging at you, reminding you to own up to your sense of self-worth.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Although Nilsson would likely disagree, her work affirms that all of us are drifting toward oblivion, with the best days of our lives like so much confetti in the wind.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
The placement of the bite suggests the whale was likely scavenged after death, its body drifting belly-up through ancient seas.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
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The popping and pinging of bats during two-hour sessions with Vasquez Duran and Sandoval feeding each other groundballs and trading turns touching second before rotating and throwing to first.—
Ethan Hanson,
Daily News,
2 June 2026
-
So your colleague, Jeremy Jacobs, wrote this piece for STAT back in 2025, touching on this topic before your study was published more recently.—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Brushing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brushing. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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