flutters 1 of 2

noun

plural of flutter
1
as in flurries
a sudden and usually temporary growth of activity the site saw a flutter of construction last month, but nothing's happening now

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ventures
chiefly British a risky undertaking most people regard the lottery as a harmless flutter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

flutters

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flutter
1
as in flits
to make an irregular series of quick, sudden movements a lonely butterfly fluttering across the lawn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flaps
to move or cause to move with a striking motion fluttered my eyelashes as I struck up a conversation with the new guy at work

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 flutters
Noun
Plastic waste flutters and settles into gulches, catches in the fencing. — Cristina Dorador, The Dial, 14 July 2026 An Iranian flag flutters in the wind as ships remain anchored on May 16, 2026 in the Strait of Hormuz near Larak Island, Iran. — Sam Meredith, CNBC, 22 May 2026 As track one begins, a copy of the script flutters down from the ceiling. — Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Mar. 2026 The Cowboys have shown flutters of championship potential but have not made a conference final since 1996. — Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025 In it, Mario snoozes against a tree as a butterfly flutters by his head. — Randall Colburn, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2025 Right now, that home is with the Mahers at Somebody People, and wherever Monarch the pop-up flutters to next. — Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 20 Aug. 2025 My heart flutters, excited to arrive, but also anxious about thirteen bodies cohabitating for six nights. — Caitlin Gunther, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Sep. 2022
Verb
The flag of Iran flutters in the wind outside of the IAEA headquarters. — Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 Iran’s flag before the 1979 revolution — green, white and red with a lion and a rising sun — flutters from many overhangs. — Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026 Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel (center) flutters a Venezuelan and Cuban national flags in support of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Havana. — Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flutters
  1. flurries
  2. ventures
  3. flits
  4. flaps
  5. bursts
  6. gambles
  7. darts
  8. flickers
Noun
  • Chelsea spent long stretches of the first half in survival mode as Arsenal roared onto the front foot after that shock opener, conjuring furious flurries of pressure from open play and set pieces.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Our arrival in the Madawaska River country of eastern Ontario, near Combermere, was noteworthy only for the snow flurries and marrow-chilling gales that howled down from Hudson Bay to greet us.
    — HARRY H. EDEL, Outdoor Life, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of flurries
Noun
  • The letter points to specific statements from Larry Ellison, and Oracle executives, describing their surveillance and artificial-intelligence technological ventures and their positive relationship with Israel.
    — Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Other robotaxi providers, like WeRide and Baidu, are also pushing abroad with new ventures in Southeast Asia and Europe.
    — Anjali Tsui, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of ventures
Verb
  • Jeffrey said his father flits about from KC to his 35 international restaurants, which are located in the Middle East, Asia and beyond.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Accented by aged brass and deep brown marble, the lamp easily flits between retro and moodier contemporary styles.
    — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of flits
Verb
  • If your dispenser has a latch that flaps open, make sure there is nothing blocking the flap to keep the pod from releasing and dissolving.
    — Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The robot flaps five to six times a second to maintain flight.
    — Ari Daniel, NPR, 9 July 2026
Definition of flaps
Noun
  • And the 27-inch display bursts with gorgeous contrast and colors.
    — George Yang, PC Magazine, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Inside, you’re greeted with fireworks; more than 30,000 crystals hang from a chandelier, forming a dozen bursts of light.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of bursts
Noun
  • Congress has a role to play, too, by balancing the censuring of officials whose risks don’t pay off with awards for those who take heroic gambles for the right reasons.
    — Doug Beck, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • But getting to this point required one of the Civil War’s most famous naval gambles.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of gambles
Verb
  • In no particular order, Elsinore darts in and out of various phases of Charleson’s life during this period, but Stone manages the tonal balance expertly.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026
  • There’s more — Arsenal’s Max Dowman, darts phenom Luke Littler, swimmer Summer McIntosh and basketball star Cooper Flagg have all been talked about as potential game-changers in their sports.
    — Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 25 July 2026
Definition of darts
Noun
  • Jackson’s availability was curbed by red cards at Chelsea — in Bruges, a barge and shirt pull with defender Han-Beom Lee suggested those flickers of fury and confrontation still burn.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The water around the device and the rock above it shield the detector from the glare of cosmic radiation, allowing the flickers of less common particle interactions to shine through.
    — James Dinneen, Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of flickers

Browse Nearby Words

fluttering
flutters
fluttery
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flutters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flutters. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All