as in afloat
riding upon the surface of a body of liquid
the wreckage remained floating for hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
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
2
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.
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Recent Examples of floating
Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2023
This tablet also comes with a full-sized floating keyboard that resembles Apple’s iPad Air and Pro Magic Keyboard.
—Patrick Moorhead, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2023
Jonathan Odden, Artforum, 2 June 2026
There’s a graphic floating around of the luckiest and unluckiest teams in the league.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for floating
Adjective
The United States shot down three more floating objects in the following days, then announced that there was no sign that any of them were connected to China.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2023
This tablet also comes with a full-sized floating keyboard that resembles Apple’s iPad Air and Pro Magic Keyboard.
—Patrick Moorhead, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2023
Verb
To my right was a picture of a pearlescent orb floating on a blank field.
—Jonathan Odden, Artforum, 2 June 2026
There’s a graphic floating around of the luckiest and unluckiest teams in the league.
—Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 2 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for floating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floating
Adjective
-
Myron reached the man and kept him afloat until help arrived, the wife said.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
-
The artist behind the series descended into poverty following the breakdown that left her unable to paint; years later her teen daughter, Indigo, herself a gifted artist, is barely keeping the two of them afloat.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The search features display the fare code and the number of seats left in that fare class, and travelers can view more details about each fare class by hovering over the search result.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 June 2026
-
But the plumes, cast-offs from the coast of Africa’s Saharan Desert, hovering a mile or so above the earth’s surface and moving routinely across the tropical North Atlantic Ocean, can suppress tropical activity like hurricanes.—
Howard Cohen
June 1,
Miami Herald,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Visitors might arrive by crossing the central plaza; emerging from the underground parking garage, nestled into a berm; or else wandering in from the surrounding Jackson Park, a network of pastoral paths completed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1871.—
Sam Cochran,
Architectural Digest,
4 June 2026
-
Check tour lengths in advance and look at what else is on the property — many distilleries sit on historic estates worth wandering for the scenery alone.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Among the new lines sailing in Alaska are MSC, The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Virgin Voyages.—
Josh Rivera,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
-
The Michigan couple, both US nationals, had been sailing together for more than a decade, documenting their life at sea on social media.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Oh, and kids will love the peacocks roaming the grounds.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Populated by roaming peacocks, shaded by pine forests, and ringed by rocky coves overlooking the Adriatic Sea, the island is an easy day trip that blends the island’s natural beauty with plenty of cinematic Game of Thrones lore.—
Brittany Anas,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Her body was found a few miles away from where she was believed to have been swimming, per police, according to the Miami Herald.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
7 June 2026
-
Establish and enforce basic pool and water safety rules, such as never swimming without an adult present.—
Chaunie Brusie,
Parents,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
Although Nilsson would likely disagree, her work affirms that all of us are drifting toward oblivion, with the best days of our lives like so much confetti in the wind.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
The placement of the bite suggests the whale was likely scavenged after death, its body drifting belly-up through ancient seas.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
The jet offers a cabin altitude of 2,691 feet while cruising at 41,000 feet, which the company describes as the lowest cabin altitude in business aviation production.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
6 June 2026
-
Wacha was cruising until the sixth inning.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Floating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floating. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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