1
as in hovered
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
a canoe floating down the river particles of dust floating in the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wandered
to move about from place to place aimlessly
lost touch with a childhood friend who spent much of his adult life floating from place to place
Synonyms & Similar 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 floated
Mediators have floated the idea that perhaps access to the Strait of Hormuz and the elimination of Iran's uranium stockpile could be fully resolved after a ceasefire is reached.
—
Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
Knies opened the scoring after Edmundson hand-delivered the puck to Max Domi, who zoomed ahead and floated a saucer pass to Knies for a snipe from between the circles.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
Policy experts have floated several potential fixes.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
He’s also being floated as a potential gubernatorial candidate.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 4 Apr. 2026
In multiple interviews following the horror series’ finale, Boston floated both anthology and continuation ideas — leaving the show’s future an open question.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2026
But Boston also floated ideas for continuing the existing storyline.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 Apr. 2026
That comes after the president floated on Wednesday the idea that states should fund welfare programs rather than the federal government.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026
The Apollo astronauts occasionally had to deal with smelly situations, including some fecal matter that escaped the waste bag and floated through the capsule during Apollo 10 in 1969.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 6 Apr. 2026
Knies opened the scoring after Edmundson hand-delivered the puck to Max Domi, who zoomed ahead and floated a saucer pass to Knies for a snipe from between the circles.
—Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 5 Apr. 2026
Policy experts have floated several potential fixes.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2026
He’s also being floated as a potential gubernatorial candidate.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 4 Apr. 2026
In multiple interviews following the horror series’ finale, Boston floated both anthology and continuation ideas — leaving the show’s future an open question.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 3 Apr. 2026
But Boston also floated ideas for continuing the existing storyline.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 Apr. 2026
That comes after the president floated on Wednesday the idea that states should fund welfare programs rather than the federal government.
—Jake Angelo, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026
The Apollo astronauts occasionally had to deal with smelly situations, including some fecal matter that escaped the waste bag and floated through the capsule during Apollo 10 in 1969.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floated
Verb
-
About half of the oil from Deepwater Horizon accumulated in a soupy plume that hovered at a depth of around eleven hundred metres.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The temperature hovered in the 30s.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Dowland said the peacock recently wandered into his home through a back door.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
-
While there, the dog wandered off, and Chris brought her back.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Rice then hit a potential double-play grounder to first baseman Connor Norby, but Norby’s throw sailed past the shortstop Lopez at second base, allowing Judge to score as the Yankees took a 4-1 lead.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
6 Apr. 2026
-
In 1776 — not 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.—
Sarah Hearon,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The world was a better place when rom-coms roamed the land.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
-
No school had won three championships in four seasons in about half a century, not since John Wooden roamed the sideline for UCLA.—
Tim Rohan,
NBC news,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Elsewhere in the photoshoot, Hosk swam in a pool, clad in a white graphic T-shirt and black underwear.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The whale swam into an inlet on the small island of Poel, near the port of Wismar, on Tuesday and got stuck again.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But her heart drifted toward other activities — usually whatever her brother Treston Brazile was doing, like baseball, soccer, and basketball.—
Charles Baggarly
April 7,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Florian Wirtz was over aggressive in his initial press and then lacked urgency to help balance out City’s right-side overload, while neither Curtis Jones or Ryan Gravenberch drifted across.—
Andy Jones,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Once product characters strolled into the park in 1974, the floodgates opened.—
John Haddad,
The Conversation,
3 Apr. 2026
-
This week's Far-Flung Postcard takes readers to London, where NPR's Vincent Ni strolled along the National Covid Memorial Wall during a recent trip.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning easily in the first four rounds.—
Doug Feinberg,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
-
Both teams had cruised to the Final Four, each winning in the first four rounds of the tournament easily.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Floated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floated. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
