as in darting
to make an irregular series of quick, sudden movements
bargain hunters at the flea market flitted from table to table like hummingbirds in a garden
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Recent Examples of flitting
Early mornings at Mukwa are quiet, with mist rising off the river and birds flitting along the river bank.
—
Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
In the garden, bumblebees, hummingbirds, and butterflies can be found flitting among the dazzling blooms.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
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
Although the Marshallese players were mostly stone-faced, their eyes—briefly flitting over to the crowd and the many cameras that followed them onto the field—belied both their excitement and anxiety at the gravity of the moment.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 21 Apr. 2026
This commentary was not from a wonkish TikToker nor a network pundit but from TMZ, the merciless purveyor of celebrity dirt, which published the images of Graham after a citizen vacationer noticed the senator flitting through the theme park and sent pictures.
—Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026
Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, and Chace Crawford catapulted to fame playing the scheming social butterflies flitting around Gossip Girl's Upper East Side.
—Rachel Desantis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
Spring's warmth is settling in across southern Michigan, and hummingbirds will soon be flitting about the state.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Jacir wants to show a cross section of people’s responses to these events, but the result often feels like scattershot scenes from a longer miniseries, flitting from one character to another with little narrative thrust or cohesion.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
In the garden, bumblebees, hummingbirds, and butterflies can be found flitting among the dazzling blooms.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
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
Although the Marshallese players were mostly stone-faced, their eyes—briefly flitting over to the crowd and the many cameras that followed them onto the field—belied both their excitement and anxiety at the gravity of the moment.
—Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 21 Apr. 2026
This commentary was not from a wonkish TikToker nor a network pundit but from TMZ, the merciless purveyor of celebrity dirt, which published the images of Graham after a citizen vacationer noticed the senator flitting through the theme park and sent pictures.
—Paula Mejía, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026
Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, and Chace Crawford catapulted to fame playing the scheming social butterflies flitting around Gossip Girl's Upper East Side.
—Rachel Desantis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
Spring's warmth is settling in across southern Michigan, and hummingbirds will soon be flitting about the state.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 31 Mar. 2026
Jacir wants to show a cross section of people’s responses to these events, but the result often feels like scattershot scenes from a longer miniseries, flitting from one character to another with little narrative thrust or cohesion.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flitting
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
Moreover, many insects have been observed fluttering around ultraviolet lamps and other light sources that emit low quantities of heat, as well as seeking out light sources when the ambient temperature is high, contradicting the premise of the thermal radiation theory.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 May 2026
-
As of Wednesday, the flags of the 48 nations competing in the World Cup began fluttering, crisscrossed above the plaza at Crown Center.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
In doing so dancing, much like writing, becomes an act of generational integration and re-membering.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
-
The video went viral of us just dancing and having fun with the song.—
Lucas Villa,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flitting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flitting. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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