EDDY Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

eddy 1 of 2

noun

Definition of eddy

as in swirl

a circular movement of air or water The boat was caught in a powerful eddy.

Related Words

Relevance

eddy

2 of 2

verb

as in to swirl

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 eddy

Noun

Dull says that the redesign will eliminate eddies inside the dam, increasing efficiency and saving the lives of juvenile salmon who might get stuck inside. — D. Hunter Reardon, USA Today, 3 June 2026 That uses the aerodisc wheels, each machined from a single piece of aluminum and designed to minimize range-sapping eddies and wakes by funneling the air like a turbine. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 26 May 2026

Verb

Spiders are also keen observers of the forest’s breath, barely perceptible air currents eddying through the trees, and place their webs strategically to intercept these drafts — and the insects that use them to boost their transit through the woods. — Rick Borchelt, Baltimore Sun, 11 Nov. 2024 The crowd eddied, some with batons dancing concentrically around the wheel of fire, others collecting around two young men in white. — Aatish Taseer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for eddy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for eddy

Noun

Landfall is not necessarily where the strongest winds are, and the wider swirl of a storm can spread destruction across large areas.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Ocean-facing rooms have hot tubs built into the balconies and few things are more relaxing than watching the neon-pinky swirl of sunset from the tub, through the layer of jungle bush.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of swirl

Verb

On July 23, 1973, tragedy rippled through the Mexican American community when 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez was shot and killed by a Dallas police officer who tried to coerce him into confessing to a burglary by playing Russian roulette.

— Alexis Guerrero, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
On Facebook, Lee’s account displayed a picture of the young Chinese man from behind, rippling shoulders framed in a weight lifter’s tank top.

— Eamon Javers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of ripple

Noun

Toward the end of a long, fruitless pitch meeting with a gaggle of writer-animators, Nickelodeon executive Mary Harrington put on Bartlett’s show reel.

— Darryn King, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Mohanad Yaqubi’s Revolutionaries Never Die, taking its cue from 113 reels of films preserved by Lebanese filmmaker Jocelyne Saab, will also compete.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of reel

Verb

This satellite time-lapse from Tuesday night to Wednesday night shows thunderstorms bubbling up within Isaias during this intensification period.

— Kate S. Petersen, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026
Mahomes’ emotion seemed to bubble over in the second quarter, with CBS cameras catching the quarterback screaming at offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of bubble

Noun

Off-White x Air Jordan 4 Bred There is perhaps no unreleased Virgil Abloh work as coveted as the late designer’s spin on the black-and-red Air Jordan 4.

— Riley Jones, Footwear News, 10 Oct. 2026
At 12, he got pulled over after taking the family car for a spin.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of spin

Noun

Don't expect the enormous spiral shown in long-exposure photographs.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 9 Oct. 2026
In Proserpina, eleven vertical yellow wooden rods, enrobed in layers of gray and maroon wire netting, increase in length around a wire-mesh spiral that reaches three feet at its tallest point.

— Nicole Rudick, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of spiral

Verb

That shows that the demand is there, and then the demand signals trickle down.

— SJ Studio, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
With rain beginning to trickle down, men and women toting cameras of various technological advances and capabilities traveled from end zone to end zone working to get great shots — either for the team, a news outlet or for an individual athlete.

— McClain Baxley for the AJC, AJC.com, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of trickle

Browse Nearby Words

eddies

eddy

eddying

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Eddy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eddy. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of eddy

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on eddy

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

deportment

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes