FANNING Synonyms: 87 Similar and Opposite Words

fanning

verb

present participle of fan

as in igniting

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

as in oscillating

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fanning

Verb

Starship uses hot staging, igniting its upper-stage engines before the booster’s engines have completely shut down.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026
When Russia invaded its far smaller neighbor in February 2022, igniting Europe’s deadliest war in generations, he was galvanized.

— Vivienne Walt, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of igniting

Verb

How to Change the Grout in Your Shower Start your refresh by removing the old grout with grout removal tools like a grout saw or an oscillating tool equipped with a grout removal blade.

— Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 20 Sep. 2026
After the oscillating light and dark, after the speeding forward, after the commuting or praying or both, this moment seems to hold an extra teaching.

— Ben Corn, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of oscillating

Verb

The gendered backlash spilled offline into a recent council meeting and is inflaming political divisions within College Park.

— AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 22 Sep. 2026
After a stabbing in Southport, England, in 2024, viral posts falsely claiming that the suspect was a Muslim and an undocumented migrant spread rapidly to millions via X and other platforms, inflaming the riots that ensued.

— Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of inflaming

Verb

For more than three decades, his romantic ballads and hits have provided the soundtrack for couples swaying cheek-to-cheek to the sensual gouyad of konpa rhythms.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
Ahead, the sandwich-board balloon, swaying in the wind, said, This way, this way.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of swaying

Verb

The country must therefore eliminate schemes, such as a kickback scheme at the state nuclear operator exposed in November 2025, that are unrelated to defense spending but capable of triggering major corruption scandals.

— Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
Deep underground, groundwater comes into direct contact with iron-rich minerals such as olivine, triggering a chemical reaction called serpentinization.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of triggering

Verb

In Caracas, hundreds of activists in sky blue shirts — the color of Machado’s Vente Venezuela party — rode motorcycles and drove through the capital’s main avenues, honking their horns and waving Venezuelan flags.

— Clyburn Saint John, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
In Paris, around 800,000 lined the Champs-Élysées avenue, some waving Vatican or French flags while others climbed trees or stood on each other’s shoulders to get a glimpse of the popemobile.

— Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of waving

Verb

This wildfire season was supercharged by heavy rains in January that spurred vegetation growth, which became kindling when the summer heat arrived.

— Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
Even minor parks or embers might be carried into leaves or grass, kindling a fire that can swiftly expand.

— CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026

Definition of kindling

Verb

He’s getting hit sometimes, and just flicking this ball out there.

— Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
The Half-Mast The first sign that a deer is troubled comes when that long tail goes to half-mast—straight out behind—and stays rigid for a few seconds before dropping and then flicking right back up.

— Tom Carpenter, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of flicking

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.

Browse Nearby Words

fannies

fanning

fanning (out)

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Style

“Fanning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fanning. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of fanning

verb

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