CURLYCUE Synonyms: 47 Similar and Opposite Words

curlicue 1 of 2

noun

variants also curlycue

Definition of curlicue

as in coil

Related Words

Relevance

curlicue

2 of 2

verb

as in to loop

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

straighten

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 curlicue

Noun

The walls are decked out with perceptive studies of the Mustang landscape by the American painter Robert Powell, a frequent visitor to the region, and by drapes and banners referencing the colorful cloud curlicues of Thangka scrolls. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2026 So is an untitled stack of rugged bricks with a chunk of concrete suspended from a metal curlicue. — Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 21 Feb. 2026

Verb

Outside, winding paths through gardens and woods lead to site-specific installations, like Eleven Minute Line, a land-art piece by Maya Lin that curlicues through a field of cows. — Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 24 June 2023 See All Example Sentences for curlicue

Recent Examples of Synonyms for curlicue

Noun

For a decade, hundreds of Black women and girls have gathered in Kansas City wearing curls, coils, locs, braids and Afros for an annual photograph intended to challenge narrow ideas about what beautiful hair is supposed to look like.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026
According to iSense, the air cylinders adjust the feel of the comfort layer while the coil system underneath is designed to provide support.

— Malana VanTyler, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of coil

Verb

The open center gives hand towels or bath sheets somewhere to loop through, rather than inevitably slipping onto the floor, and the handmade stoneware can hold up to 10 pounds.

— Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 2026
While hunting for his missing wife, Marissa, Hale is dragged through an escalating nightmare of environments that loop, warp and rebuild themselves from his own memories and trauma.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of loop

Noun

For a decade, hundreds of Black women and girls have gathered in Kansas City wearing curls, coils, locs, braids and Afros for an annual photograph intended to challenge narrow ideas about what beautiful hair is supposed to look like.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Oct. 2026
Underneath, Nicks let her natural curls run wild, cascading down her back and shoulders.

— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of curl

Verb

When a user is spiraling, does the system slow down or match the energy?

— Puneet Gaur, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
The joint letter also comes against a backdrop of surging government borrowing costs, spiraling inflation and sluggish growth across much of the continent, as well as concerns about rising budget deficits in various EU countries.

— Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of spiral

Noun

The images show the somewhat hurricanelike swirl of UV light during the auroral substorm over the North Pole.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
Yet somewhere in that swirl of digital natural selection, algorithms can emerge to advance their goal in ways that may closely resemble human feelings.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of swirl

Verb

That’s apt because the technological stroke that’s allowed Jamestown to revive One Times Square’s interiors is the evolution of digital screens that can slink along curving walls and respond to touch.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Oct. 2026
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s central plaza, which spreads out beneath the building’s curved, hovering form, was always meant to be a generous civic space.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of curve

Noun

There’s a playfulness, also seen in the Regent Experience Agent’s classic-with-a-twist ensembles, that feels young and fresh even if the brand has a discreet opulence about it.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Oct. 2026
Insanely good casting and no twists to overcomplicate things.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of twist

Browse Nearby Words

curled up

curlicue

curlicued

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Curlicue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curlicue. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of curlicue

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perseverate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes