Synonyms of drifting

drifting 1 of 2

adjective

1

as in ranging

Related Words

• ranging
• wandering
• meandering
• rambling
• roaming
• roving
• nomadic
• ambulatory
• itinerant
• peripatetic
• vagrant
• walking
• footloose
• nomad
• wayfaring
• errant
• peregrine
• ambulant
• vagabond
• migrant
• gallivanting
• fugitive
• migratory
• perambulatory
• sauntering
• traipsing
• strolling

Dissimilar Words

• static
• stationary
• standing
• settled
• motionless
• still
• immobile
• nonmoving

2

as in hovering

Related Words

• hovering
• sailing
• hanging
• gliding
• wafting
• floating
• poised
• free-floating
• afloat
• awash
• buoyant
• floaty
• unsinkable

Dissimilar Words

• sinking
• sunk
• high and dry
• aground

drifting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of drift

1

as in flowing

to move or proceed smoothly and readily

casual conversation drifting from one topic to another

Synonyms & Similar Words

• flowing
• gliding
• cruising
• sailing
• sliding
• slipping
• rolling
• flying
• sweeping
• brushing
• racing
• coasting
• speeding
• streaming
• bowling
• rushing
• skimming
• breezing
• whisking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• struggling
• floundering
• stumbling
• trudging
• shuffling
• limping
• plodding
• lumbering
• laboring
• stamping
• stomping
• tramping
• toiling
• shambling
• stumping

2

as in floating

to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air

the boat drifted along on the current

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hovering
• floating
• sailing
• swimming
• gliding
• riding
• bobbing
• wafting
• hanging
• dangling
• poising
• suspending
• buoying
• rafting
• ballooning

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• settling
• sinking
• plunging
• diving
• lunging
• dipping
• submerging
• immersing
• submersing

3

as in wandering

to move about from place to place aimlessly

spent several years drifting from town to town, picking up odd jobs whenever he needed cash

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wandering
• roaming
• floating
• cruising
• strolling
• meandering
• ranging
• roving
• knocking (about)
• rambling
• traipsing
• gallivanting
• batting
• sauntering
• ambling
• gadding (about)
• mooching
• maundering
• kicking around
• dawdling
• straying
• moping
• straggling
• tramping
• milling (about or around)
• hoboing
• vagabonding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of drifting

Verb

Bertha is drifting slowly but is expected to move northwest tonight before tracking near or along the northern Gulf Coast over the next several days. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 20 July 2026

Griezmann operated as a central attacker in a front three alongside Angulo and Ojeda, frequently drifting into deeper positions to collect the ball and turn play forward. — Scott Turick, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2026

And when that space closes, Messi simply relocates, drifting into the wider right-side areas as defences tire, the source of both assists in Atlanta and the switch that turned the Egypt tie. — Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 18 July 2026

The city fell under a dangerous, code red air quality alert Thursday due to smoke from Canadian wildfires drifting southeast from Ontario. — Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 17 July 2026

Governing authority is gradually drifting downward — and outward — to states, cities and metropolitan regions that can still act with speed, competence and public trust. — John Eger, Mercury News, 17 July 2026

Adkins then began stabbing himself with the box cutter and drifting in and out of consciousness, the affidavit states. — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026

There was the part of her that was drifting, happy to lie in silk sheets and drink milk and sit with a gull on her lap, rapt, staring into eternity. — Literary Hub, 13 July 2026

Instead, many days have been dominated by thick smoke drifting into town. — Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 13 July 2026