crawling 1 of 2

adjective

as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed the crawling pace of the narrative is really frustrating

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crawling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of crawl
1
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the time we had to crawl through a narrow passageway from one cave to another

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2
as in dragging
to move slowly the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poking
to move or act slowly the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bursting
to be copiously supplied something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters

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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 crawling
Verb
On thinner material, that gives you a fighting chance at keeping heat and warpage under control without crawling along at a miserable pace. — New Atlas, 22 Oct. 2026 Prior to then, traffic was seen crawling on the eastbound side of the bridge heading into the city. — Jeff Capellini, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 At the hospital, an insect fell from the girl’s shoe, and a staffer saw a cockroach crawling on her, the district attorney’s office said. — Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 The other new release is a dungeon-crawling RPG called Gloom Gate. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, 9 Oct. 2026 In addition to rewards for moving at the right speed and in the right direction and penalties for things like wobbling or jerky movement, the team introduced a novel way to keep the hand in a crawling stance during the simulated training. — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Oct. 2026 Traffic cameras showed that northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper and crawling along I-35 before being detoured from the highway. — Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026 Which teething toy is safe for a six-month-old who is already crawling? — Usman Ilyas, Forbes.com, 6 Oct. 2026 Merry banqueters on the rear wall appeared unaware of the demons crawling up the side wall, as though ready to burst into the chamber itself. — Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crawling
  1. leisurely
  2. creeping
  3. dragging
  4. poking
  5. bursting
  6. slow
  7. sliding
  8. shuffling
Adjective
  • Guests also have access to a sunny terrace and a shared pool, ideal for leisurely afternoons.
    — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
  • But for me the wow factor started weeks out with a leisurely but extremely detailed call with a kindly staffer who took down all of our details.
    — Kate Berlant, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of leisurely
Verb
  • Eisenkot is viewed by supporters as a capable leader with sterling security credentials who, along with his likely governing partners, could act as a bulwark against creeping illiberalism.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Gusts of more than 60 mph are possible in parts of the Outer Banks with 40 to 50 mph gusts creeping toward the Interstate 95 corridor in North Carolina and southern Virginia.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of creeping
Verb
  • Most damage to the undersea cables that form the Internet’s backbone is the result of accidents involving bottom-trawling fishing nets and ship anchors dragging on the seabed, with storms and undersea landslides also factoring in.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 28 Oct. 2026
  • There’s nothing neutral about dragging your feet, and a rigorous investigation of crimes is the only job of the Justice Department.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of dragging
Verb
  • My physical study, on the floor, poking at what was there in the open field of the air, led to newfound levels of learning to process, in poems on the page, where my initial feelings of hunger came from.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In a recent interview with OutKick Dropkick, Hefner was already poking the bear in hopes of getting eyes on his event.
    — Ryan Gaydos OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of poking
Verb
  • When a bank of televisions showed horses bursting through the starting gate, feet stomped on the club’s carpet.
    — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • And every few months, a bursting FedEx envelope from Baltimore would appear at my desk at PRH containing Professor Dixon’s typewritten chunks of new and unpublished writing.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of bursting
Adjective
  • The course of Alzheimer’s disease is slightly slower than that of Lewy body dementia, according to Vossel.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The team found that slower charging helped create more uniform, inorganic-rich protective layers, which are important for maintaining stable battery performance.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of slow
Verb
  • Leeds is in the zone here, and because most of the tracks are about the same length and there are no ambient interludes or pop-length counterbalances, the album’s lengthy runtime ends up sliding by pretty easily.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Prosecutors said authorities responded to a report of a shattered sliding glass door and significant fire damage inside the home.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of sliding
Verb
  • The Current traded away some assets while shuffling stars like Michelle Cooper, Temwa Chawinga and Lorena in and out of the lineup.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2026
  • And for a quarterback whose superpower involves shuffling through collapsing pockets, scrambling through squalor, throwing off any and every platform — such a question was warranted.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of shuffling

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Crawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crawling. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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