churns

present tense third-person singular of churn
1
as in swirls
to be in a state of violent rolling motion a churning sea made getting to the island a risky undertaking

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in stirs
to cause (as a liquid) to move about in a circle especially repeatedly churn the cream until it turns into butter

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 churns Although all of the solar system’s planets with atmospheres have wave-spawning disturbances, only Saturn churns them out looking like polygons, geometric shapes bounded by straight lines. ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 For all of Jaws' carnage, nothing churns the gut quite like the death of local boy Alex Kintner, played by Jeffrey Voorhees. Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 20 June 2026 First, Two Scoops Creamery uses a high butter fat content and churns the ice cream directly in the Plaza Midwood store. Tristan Graziano, Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026 Fashion month and awards season may have drawn to a close, but the global cultural calendar churns on. Mahoro Seward, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2026 As the song churns on, the focus narrows in on West until everything else falls away. Jayson Greene, Pitchfork, 3 Mar. 2026 Their immense gravitational influence churns gas, dust, and even proximate stars around them, thus exerting a tremendous influence on their host galaxies. Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2026 Its back is a row of shields and churns the oceans to a frothing boil. Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026 Harris is one of tens of thousands of Americans killed or injured each year by gun violence, a public health crisis that escalated in the pandemic and churns a new victim into a hospital emergency room every half hour. Fred Clasen-Kelly, USA Today, 19 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for churns
Verb
  • Max Martin, Grande sings of blowing through breakups and make-ups and enduring mounting exhaustion with mass notoriety while the music swirls patiently and frequently angrily underneath.
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The galaxy's heart shines brightly in the image, with gleaming rays of light radiating from its center while gas and dust swirls around.
    Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 19 May 2026
Verb
  • Her arrival stirs enough secrets, crushes, and shifting loyalties to fill an eight-episode TV show.
    Rhoda Feng, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Perched along Positano’s cliffs, the hotel soothes the soul and stirs the senses.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The energy boils, and so does the tension between the woman in red and someone else competing for the same man.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Grylls cuts off the animal’s tongue with a knife and boils it over a campfire.
    Erin Jensen, USA Today, 9 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Fission – or the splitting of atoms (usually uranium) – produces energy that heats a liquid (usually water) into steam, which then spins a turbine, generating electricity.
    Donald Keough, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The camera spins on its own ketamine high as Peter (Firstman), party promoter extraordinaire and generous drug dealer, kicks off another evening.
    Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • In the very human-scale role of Chef, all that glamour and pageantry seethes just beneath the skin.
    Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
  • As Seth seethes about his separation from his home country (and the family fortune), Arias interweaves a backstory involving assassination, undisclosed parentage and (as the title suggests) the perilous creatures slithering across the landscape.
    Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Verb
  • Cool, icy, and tangy, this blender dessert whirls buttermilk, ice, and honey into a sweet, frothy cloud of a frappe perfect for hot summer nights.
    Anna Kovel, Martha Stewart, 10 July 2026
  • The heady Moon whirls into your 6th House of Effort, highlighting habits that support productivity.
    Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 23 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Tehran has dug in its heels — to Trump’s frustration — as energy prices rise, the global economy roils and poll numbers on the administration’s handling of the war dip ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.
    Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Tehran has dug in its heels — to Trump’s frustration — as energy prices rise, the global economy roils and poll numbers on the administration's handling of the war dip ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Churns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/churns. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster