as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the crawling pace of the narrative is really frustrating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in dragging
to move slowly
the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poking
to move or act slowly
the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of crawling
Heather Bien,
The Spruce,
23 June 2026
The video shows an officer tumbling on the ground, crawling in front of a parked car for cover and ultimately becoming fully prone.
—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
22 June 2026
North Carolina is crawling, or perhaps slithering, with copperheads.
—
Eva Flowe,
Charlotte Observer,
22 June 2026
On land, movements range from crawling and slithering (worms, mollusks, arthropods, snakes) to walking and running.
—
Literary Hub,
22 June 2026
Florida’s State Road A1A is crawling with lively beach towns, and one of its best is New Smyrna Beach.
—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
21 June 2026
On summer weekends, visitors can also take a challenging Introduction to Wild Caving Tour, which journeys into undeveloped parts of the cave and requires belly crawling.
—
Taryn Shorr-McKee,
Travel + Leisure,
21 June 2026
For cybersecurity companies, identifying a digital agent crawling a website used to be enough evidence of malicious activity.
—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
17 June 2026
The challenge, of course, is that cleaning baseboards often involves crawling around on hands and knees, a task few people are eager to do.
—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
13 June 2026
Verb
Add a Physical Barrier Since ticks prefer to hide in grass and other plants and brush, adding a non-plant barrier like wood chips or gravel can stop ticks from ever crawling into your yard.
—
Heather Bien,
The Spruce,
23 June 2026
The video shows an officer tumbling on the ground, crawling in front of a parked car for cover and ultimately becoming fully prone.
—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
22 June 2026
North Carolina is crawling, or perhaps slithering, with copperheads.
—
Eva Flowe,
Charlotte Observer,
22 June 2026
On land, movements range from crawling and slithering (worms, mollusks, arthropods, snakes) to walking and running.
—
Literary Hub,
22 June 2026
Florida’s State Road A1A is crawling with lively beach towns, and one of its best is New Smyrna Beach.
—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
21 June 2026
On summer weekends, visitors can also take a challenging Introduction to Wild Caving Tour, which journeys into undeveloped parts of the cave and requires belly crawling.
—
Taryn Shorr-McKee,
Travel + Leisure,
21 June 2026
For cybersecurity companies, identifying a digital agent crawling a website used to be enough evidence of malicious activity.
—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
17 June 2026
The challenge, of course, is that cleaning baseboards often involves crawling around on hands and knees, a task few people are eager to do.
—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
13 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crawling
Adjective
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That was when the lensman captured the social set at their leisurely and often strikingly dressed best.
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Perhaps the biggest problem with this movie is that Supergirl (Helen Slater) seems terribly leisurely about her fateful mission.
Verb
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Best Prime Day Matching Sets for Summer Summer temperatures are already creeping in, serving as a friendly reminder that pants aren’t always a fit for June.
-
Humidity starts creeping back up on Thursday.
Verb
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Yet the latest round of fighting has underscored the group’s resilience, dragging Lebanon into a regional war and drawing the Israeli military back to a familiar southern Lebanon terrain.
-
According to the criminal complaint, the boy told police Diggs began choking him before dragging him into the nearby alley.
Verb
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Indeed, when Orion disappears below the western horizon during spring evenings, the Scorpion is poking his head up in the southeast.
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Kansas City isn't much of a pedestrian city, but now, blue and green specks of fans dot the sidewalks, like wildflowers poking through a crack in the pavement.
Verb
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Best Amazon Prime Day Home Deals Amazon’s home department is bursting with steep Prime Day deals today.
-
Always turn off the electricity and water supply line and remove nearby light fixtures when dealing with bursting ceiling pipes to avoid accidental electrocution.
Adjective
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What to expect over the weekend Though Friday was expected to be the slowest day of the competition, the atmosphere at Cal Expo was anything but dull.
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Some residents are calling for civilian volunteers to help clear debris, frustrated by the slow pace of the rescue operations.
Verb
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Timberwolves general manager Matt Lloyd said Minnesota was considering selecting Duke wing Isaiah Evans with the 28th pick in this week’s NBA Draft, prior to the Wolves sliding back five selections due to the Julius Randle trade.
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Tire tread depth - Checking your tire tread before hitting the road is important, as low or no tread can lead to sliding.
Verb
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In an era of digital overwhelm and social isolation, gathering around a table, shuffling tiles and building order out of chaos together feels like exactly what people are reaching for right now.
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The model of shuffling that the new result depends on, like Bayer and Diaconis’ before it, still assumes that the cards riffle down one by one, rather than in clumps.
Cite this Entry
“Crawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crawling. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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