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

Three-times married, his was to be a literary career pock-marked by substance abuse issues leading to a peripatetic existence drifting from one august institution to another. — Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026

Toxic haze has covered parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore for weeks as Jakarta struggles to contain fires that have scorched large tracts of Borneo and Sumatra, with the smoke drifting across the region. — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026

The autumn sun is drifting southward and the angle of shadows is shifting. — Dana Kelley, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

This included landings on untouched white sand beaches, in the shadow of immense glaciers, with ice floes drifting quietly offshore. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026

The weather served up truly stifling heat, including a stretch of highs in the mid-90s, and a few days of air quality emergency due to wildfire smoke drifting across the upper Midwest. — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026

Every few years, a leap second was added to the world clock to prevent the two from drifting too far apart. — Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

Stewart complained about the chain’s merchandising and quality control, and Kmart was drifting toward financial trouble. — Fernanda Tronco, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026

Chidgasornpongse crystallizes that cosmic doom further when Grandma Saluay falls half-asleep or stares out the van window, her mind drifting into the ether. — Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026