FLIRTING Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

flirting

verb

present participle of flirt

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

Relevance

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

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 flirting Or the dance fighting and Ruby Roundhouse’s (Karen Gillan)/Martha’s (Morgan Turner) hilariously inept attempts at flirting? — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 29 July 2026 And oil markets are not interested in even flirting with such low numbers. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 25 July 2026 Nights in a restaurant are often spent describing flavors, in sensory attention—at least when they aren’t filled with flirting with your coworkers or complaining about guests. — Kyle Lucia Wu, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 July 2026 That might seem counterintuitive, at a time when the stock market has been flirting with record highs. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 18 July 2026 There’s a lot of kids who come from privilege, who go to private schools, who should know better, who are flirting with and embracing fascism. — Adam Messinger, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026 Dating After flirting for weeks on end, Nic Vansteenberghe and Olandria Carthen finally got together toward the end of Love Island USA season 7. — Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 13 July 2026 Expect sunshine and temperatures flirting with the triple digits by next weekend. — Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 12 July 2026 Creative projects could also turn into profitable side hustles, and flirting over your go-to bedding styles never felt so good. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 9 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flirting

Verb

Cardi shared on Instagram after teasing the song earlier this week.

— Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 31 July 2026
In the comments section of Beer’s Instagram post teasing the video, her parents, Robert and Tracie Beer, voiced their support for the couple.

— Nasha Smith, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026

Definition of teasing

Verb

The Barcelona forward is a different option to Solanke with his ability in tight spaces and desire to stretch the defensive line with darting runs in-behind.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Tagging the Globetrotting travel company, the Fast Five actress shared a carousel of highlights from the safari, including photos of elephants in the wild, horseback riding excursions, and a cheetah darting into a tree—as well as her mini-me.

— Lara Walsh, InStyle, 28 July 2026

Definition of darting

Verb

The formula is one of those shampoos formulated for a really great wash—delivering moisture and smoothing without toying too far into volumizing, densifying, or hair growth.

— Ellie Davis, Vogue, 25 June 2026
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

Definition of toying

Verb

An airy, not-too-sweet vanilla like Taunt is the perfect encapsulation of a Gemini who’s always flitting from one topic of interest to the next.

— Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 14 July 2026
Within moments, someone pointed out a starling flitting across the hazy sky.

— Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026

Definition of flitting

Verb

Throughout all the commotion, Romelu Lukaku acted as decoy, holding on to the ball, fooling everyone, including the TV producer, who pulled up a graphic showing his recent penalty record.

— Geir Jordet, New York Times, 15 July 2026
Speaking on Harvard Business School’s The Founder Mindset podcast, hosted by senior lecturer and serial entrepreneur Reza Satchu, the Shark Tank investor argued that anyone trying to balance a young company against the rest of their life is fooling themselves.

— Sydney Lake, Fortune, 17 June 2026

Definition of fooling

Verb

The sky was alive with millions of fluttering shapes, congregating into clouds at random, occasionally turning into ribbons that wound through the trees.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026
Both are excellent as women emerging from a pupa of damage and tentatively fluttering their wings.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2026

Definition of fluttering

Verb

But Guthrie wasn’t kidding, slipping into a yellow gingham dress before joining her co-hosts on the Today Show Plaza to greet visitors.

— Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 7 July 2026
Just kidding, but seeing Angela’s team sweep Shamea’s at the Bailey Bowl basketball tournament was almost as satisfying as knowing Charles got to witness his former team’s historic win in person.

— Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 22 June 2026

Definition of kidding

Verb

Mizuno herself was a ballet dancer and trained at the Royal Ballet School before dancing with companies including English National Ballet, Dresden Semperoper Ballet and Scottish Ballet.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 July 2026
And going back to movies, the Michael Jackson biopic Michael turned a cinema screening into a concert-like experience, with viewers singing, dancing and transforming the theater into an impromptu dance floor.

— Kian Bakhtiari, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026