FLOATING Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

floating 1 of 2

adjective

ˈflō-tiŋ

Definition of floating

as in afloat

riding upon the surface of a body of liquid the wreckage remained floating for hours

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

floating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of float

as in hovering

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in wandering

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 floating

Adjective

Social media posts and years of reviewing cookie-cutter luxury hotels had conditioned me to equate floating breakfasts, monogrammed accessories, butler service, and aromatherapy menus as markers of a dreamy luxury vacation. — Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 22 Oct. 2024 The boat, a single motorboat, was found floating and half-submerged near the Harbor One Marina. — Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 3 Sep. 2024

Verb

Pop into cute shops like Lake Superior Trading Post and Drury Lane Books, grab a maple latte from Java Moose, take a morning hike at Artist’s Point, and unwind with a session in the country’s first floating sauna at Sisu and Löyly. — Taryn Shorr-McKee, Midwest Living, 26 Aug. 2026 Located around 30 minutes from downtown KC, Lake Olathe has a beach with amenities like a floating obstacle course and a marina. — Rashad Alexander august 20, Kansas City Star, 20 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for floating

Recent Examples of Synonyms for floating

Adjective

In-app purchases to keep afloat Both apps are free to download but feature in-app purchases.

— Greta Cross, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
Long before becoming a Hollywood mainstay with a market cap of over $315 billion, Netflix was struggling to stay afloat.

— Preston Fore, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of afloat

Verb

Parton didn’t stop with Dollywood By the early 1990s, Parton created The Dollywood Foundation with the goal of decreasing the high school drop out rate in Sevier County, which was hovering around 30%.

— Kimberlee Kruesi, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
By dawn, the crew had slotted the house into place on its new site, hovering on timber cribbing.

— Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of hovering

Verb

But when Fran discovers a magic tree after wandering into the woods, the trio experience a series of life-altering adventures.

— Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 21 Aug. 2026
Times classical music critic Mark Swed was there to watch, along with many effusive supporters of music director Gianandrea Noseda’s now wandering orchestra.

— Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of wandering

Verb

Images of Anderson roaming around the concert venue with a large 35mm camera were shared widely on social media sites at the time.

— Zac Ntim, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Texas has the largest feral hog population in the United States, with millions of the invasive animals roaming the state.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of roaming

Verb

The Louisiana Department of Health announced last week a resident had likely contracted the organism, known as Naegleria fowleri, while swimming in Lake Claiborne which is about 30 miles northwest of Ruston.

— Diego Mendoza, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Lillian Smart, an 8-year-old girl who health officials believe contracted a brain-eating amoeba while swimming in a northern Louisiana lake, died Saturday at a Ruston hospital from an infection linked to the pathogen.

— Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of swimming

Verb

The generation with the most to lose The clearest evidence that confidence and competence are drifting apart shows up in the generational data.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Dark, light-absorbing particles turn into light-scattering particles, transforming dark, dense plumes into the milky white haze seen drifting across the eastern skies.

— Michael A. Robinson, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of drifting

Verb

Travelers have also weighed in online about the benefits and drawbacks of cruising in Greenland.

— Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
By then Arsenal were cruising, thanks to an hour of crisp passing and progressive possession punctuated by goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Odegaard.

— Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of cruising

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floated

floating

floats

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Floating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floating. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of floating

adjective

verb

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