1
as in to flow
to move or proceed smoothly and readily
casual conversation drifting from one topic to another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to hover
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
the boat drifted along on the current
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to wander
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
1
2
as in tide
a prevailing or general movement or inclination
the steady drift of the population away from large cities
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in sense
the idea that is conveyed or intended to be conveyed to the mind by language, symbol, or action
you should expect a visit from the stork, if you get my drift
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of drift
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Potential concerns included security and nearby farm pesticides drifting into the outdoor growing areas.
—Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
But radical shifts in the media landscape and Vanity Fair’s slow editorial drift away from gauzy Hollywood nostalgia to chase social traffic have allowed other titles at Condé Nast like Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, and even Wired to overshadow it.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drift
Verb
Why a piece of a turbine blade ended up drifting in the sea is still unknown.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Potential concerns included security and nearby farm pesticides drifting into the outdoor growing areas.
—Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
The drifts of powder, scattered by her haste, gather in the runnels of the tabletop.
—Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
But radical shifts in the media landscape and Vanity Fair’s slow editorial drift away from gauzy Hollywood nostalgia to chase social traffic have allowed other titles at Condé Nast like Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, and even Wired to overshadow it.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drift
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drift
Verb
-
To get the blood flowing, it is recommended to perform movements such as Turkish get-ups, incline bench presses, or flat bench presses.—
Gabriele Regalbuto,
FOXNews.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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The device—about the size of a playing card—is placed on a patient's chest to take an ECG recording of the electrical signals from their heart, while its microphone records the sound of blood flowing through the heart.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Gross margins hover around 59%, while operating margins climbed to nearly 50% in the last quarter – reflecting a solid 700 basis points increase from a year prior.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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Nearly a decade after a US Navy pilot reported an unidentified flying object shaped like a spindle hovering off the East Coast, scientists in China have built and tested a drone with a strikingly similar profile.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
While there’s not a lot to see and do, every bit of it is worth experiencing, so pick a pretty day and wander over to Waverly for a few hours of chatting with friendly folks, digging into good food, and scouring shelves for cool finds.—
Jennifer Stewart Kornegay,
Southern Living,
3 Sep. 2025
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Whether sailing across Lake Zurich or wandering the Kunsthaus, the city reveals itself seductively.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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According to manager John Schneider, the mound meeting with Hoffman was just another way in which Guerrero is adjusting to being not only the face, but one of the emotional leaders of the Blue Jays.—
Jackson Roberts,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
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Baseball teams rely on consistent productivity both on the pitching mound and in the batter’s box during the course of a season, much like business units depend on meeting sales quotas and company objectives throughout the fiscal year.—
Mark LaSota,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
There is a world in which the actress once known as America’s sweetheart can turn the tide her way, with voters nominating her for Best Actress as a vote of confidence toward her purposefully polarizing character.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
29 Aug. 2025
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That series, which is being repped internationally by Beta Film, tells the story of the real-life Hungarian army commander Janos Hunyadi, who turned back the tide of the Ottoman Empire’s seemingly unstoppable advance into Europe at the Battle of Belgrade in 1456.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This has for decades been underpinned by voluntary pricing agreements — voluntary in the sense that non-voluntary terms would have been worse — between the industry and the NHS.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
3 Sep. 2025
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There is no sense of responsibility or critical assessment of the causes of the refusal to publish in Israel while the massacre continues.—
Uriel Kon
September 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Simply wrap the paper onto remote controls and consoles, or glide the wax paper on tabletops and shelves to collect any dust.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
25 Aug. 2025
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However, with Web3’s ups and downs, Web3 companies need to be even smarter to ensure short term survival to glide over the alt season dips, but more importantly to have a strong growth strategy so that those dips smooth out as the user base grows.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Shop storage and organization deals, like this shoe organizer and this set of floating shelves to make your space cozy, not cluttered.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
28 Aug. 2025
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Some, called rogue planets, don't even orbit a star, but rather are floating through the cosmos untethered.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drift.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drift. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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