1
as in teasing
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
the servers at that restaurant flirt with all the customers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in darting
to make an irregular series of quick, sudden movements
lazily watched the butterflies flirting among the wildflowers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flirting
The White Sox were flirting with first place in the American League Central on Tuesday, trailing the Cleveland Guardians by a half-game.
—
Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
All this league flirting and dealmaking with streaming services is under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to determine if the league is violating its antitrust exemption.
—Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
Finn He's given a face to cannon-fodder Stormtroopers, plus has a penchant for flirting and a heroic streak.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Harper scored 27 points off the bench, flirting with the Spurs’ playoff record for most in a game by a 20-year-old.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Apr. 2026
The clip then flashes back to a scene from season 1 of Hunt for Love, in which Elise was heavily flirting with Rob.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Anthropic has a habit of using dramatic, alarming-sounding language that can be tough to interrogate cleanly, including flirting with the idea that its Claude model might be conscious.
—Robert Hart, The Verge, 23 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lindsay leverages her own position in the club by flirting with the new tennis pro, Woosh, over text.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Our warmest day will be Wednesday with highs in the mid 80s, flirting with another 143-year-old record of 85° set back in 1883.
—Mary Ours, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
All this league flirting and dealmaking with streaming services is under scrutiny by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to determine if the league is violating its antitrust exemption.
—Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
Finn He's given a face to cannon-fodder Stormtroopers, plus has a penchant for flirting and a heroic streak.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Harper scored 27 points off the bench, flirting with the Spurs’ playoff record for most in a game by a 20-year-old.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Apr. 2026
The clip then flashes back to a scene from season 1 of Hunt for Love, in which Elise was heavily flirting with Rob.
—Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 24 Apr. 2026
Anthropic has a habit of using dramatic, alarming-sounding language that can be tough to interrogate cleanly, including flirting with the idea that its Claude model might be conscious.
—Robert Hart, The Verge, 23 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lindsay leverages her own position in the club by flirting with the new tennis pro, Woosh, over text.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Our warmest day will be Wednesday with highs in the mid 80s, flirting with another 143-year-old record of 85° set back in 1883.
—Mary Ours, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flirting
Verb
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With The Boys teasing a return for Aya Cash‘s Stormfront in the upcoming prequel series, Eric Kripke has no plans to retcon her motivations.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
10 May 2026
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Shania Twain has fans buzzing after teasing a new single on social media.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Like a vibrantly hued snake darting down the narrow branch of a tree, the collective of high-performance automobiles rapidly navigates the narrow, serpentine artery along the Northeastern Italian coast, a quicksilver-like tracing of the border between Il Bel Paese and Slovenia.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
11 May 2026
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And so quickly darting into the air on seats supported by scaffolding is not an easy proposition for the mind to overcome.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Verb
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The age-gap romance is one that Statsky said the writers have been toying around with for quite some time.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
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The bill is the result of six years of studying and toying around the edges of PBM issues.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In the garden, bumblebees, hummingbirds, and butterflies can be found flitting among the dazzling blooms.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
10 May 2026
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The report said the ultra wealthy are more mobile than ever, buying homes around the world and flitting from city to city more frequently.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Fungus Gnats These 1/8-inch-long delicate-looking gnats may be seen flying near the soil surface of houseplants or fluttering around the house (they’re attracted to light).—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
28 Apr. 2026
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Kick your legs in small up-and-down fluttering motions while keeping your lower back flat and abs tight throughout.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After killing Minnesota’s first power play, the Avalanche opened the scoring when defenseman Sam Malinski scored his first career playoff goal, fooling Wallstedt with a rising wrist shot.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
4 May 2026
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But anyone in the auto industry who didn’t feel like something was going to happen in China five years ago was fooling themselves.—
Jamie Lincoln Kitman,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Even in the midst of that sweltering Lagos day of thumping car music and raucous engines and the truck that honked at her for dancing too close, Miriam’s squeal stood out, a siren.—
‘Pemi Aguda,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
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As the beat dropped, the friends jumped into action — tossing pink flower petals, dancing and laughing before embracing at a glam station.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
Gosling, of course, was kidding.—
Jake Coyle,
Fortune,
6 May 2026
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Just kidding, but that would’ve been awesome.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flirting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flirting. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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