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

The passage of play (below) lasted about 40 seconds from the moment Arsenal’s No 7 started drifting across the pitch, repeatedly calling for the ball to be played left. — Art De Roché, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

But sometimes, inaccurate coordinates or a drifting boat make the search trickier. — Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026

Volcanic ash rose to 50,000 feet, drifting over Jakarta and western provinces, as authorities warned residents and tourists to stay two miles from the crater. — Tatan Syuflana, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

The montage ended bizarrely, with a clip of Clooney drifting into space to die in the film Gravity. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026

One rises, then another, then seemingly all of them—great striped bulbs of crimson, lemon yellow, and turquoise drifting between the fairy chimneys as the first sunlight catches the dusty pink folds of the landscape. — Scott Campbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026

The operator said the boat had been drifting for two days without fuel, food or water and had no personal safety equipment. — Stephen Sorace , Preston Mizell, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026

For some, drifting along on a tube is the ultimate way to soak up the scenery. — Gabi De La Rosa, Travel + Leisure, 31 Aug. 2026

That contradiction is where the platform’s next regulatory and consumer-trust fight will play out, and recent tweaks show the company knows the line is drifting. — Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026