1
as in imperceptible
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2
as in ambling
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in encroaching
to advance gradually beyond the usual or desirable limits
every year the water inches further up the embankments, threatening to permanently engulf the island city
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2
as in dragging
to move slowly
the car inched carefully across the snow-covered causeway
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Recent Examples of inching
ABC News, 12 May 2026
Competitive Wordle Score Once again, the Bot and I tied for three, giving us one point each and inching our totals forward.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
Car loan rates, too, have been inching downward.
—Rachel Barber, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
The English-speaking country saw a record number of visitors in 2025 and will host the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference for the first time in 2026—two signs that its remote rainforests are inching toward the spotlight.
—Carla Vianna, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026
One company has been diligently working on something like that and claims to be inching ever closer.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Australia’s nuclear-submarine acquisition plan is inching a step closer to reality with the United States’ new contract.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
The woman in the driver's seat of the truck appeared to be having a seizure and the truck kept inching toward the intersection of Tulip and Hellerman streets.
—Liz Crawford, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
The biggest media merger in years is inching closer to the finish line.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Verb
Those two strong responders saw their HIV drop to undetectable levels, inching up only occasionally when the CAR-T cells presumably got to work again.
—ABC News, 12 May 2026
Competitive Wordle Score Once again, the Bot and I tied for three, giving us one point each and inching our totals forward.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 9 May 2026
Car loan rates, too, have been inching downward.
—Rachel Barber, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
The English-speaking country saw a record number of visitors in 2025 and will host the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference for the first time in 2026—two signs that its remote rainforests are inching toward the spotlight.
—Carla Vianna, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Apr. 2026
One company has been diligently working on something like that and claims to be inching ever closer.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Australia’s nuclear-submarine acquisition plan is inching a step closer to reality with the United States’ new contract.
—Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Apr. 2026
The woman in the driver's seat of the truck appeared to be having a seizure and the truck kept inching toward the intersection of Tulip and Hellerman streets.
—Liz Crawford, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
The biggest media merger in years is inching closer to the finish line.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inching
Adjective
-
Because there are no limits on call time, the transition from customer service to therapy was often imperceptible.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Drummers’ timekeeping is fluid; even at its most rocksteady, it’s enlivened by tiny, imperceptible pauses and hiccups.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Your neighbors may not want to deal with its thorny leaves encroaching on their yard.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
30 Apr. 2026
-
An encroaching fog is disrupting the ferry schedule.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Travelers end up dragging coats through museums or try to shove them into already full suitcases before a train transfer.—
Chantelle Kincy,
Travel + Leisure,
10 May 2026
-
That’s led to a stark split between Wall Street analysts and energy experts, who have been warning that oil supplies could head off a cliff in the coming months or even weeks, dragging the global economy down in the process.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
10 May 2026
Adjective
-
Neither is known for having much of an off-the-dribble game that could hurt the plodding Porzingis or Horford.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
His jogging gait is a bit plodding.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Audiences have championed the films for their creeping realism and slow-building scares that made ordinary bedrooms, hallways and home security cameras feel terrifying.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
-
This low-mounding shade perennial sends up taller, slender stems with airy flower clusters, and the groundcover spreads by slowly creeping rhizomes.—
Judy Nauseef,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
Rather than a straight block or thin stiletto, it was built like a short, tapered column, fuller under the sole, narrowed through the middle and opened slightly again at the floor.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
3 May 2026
-
These jeans have a tapered slit on the ankles, which will instantly shine a spotlight on your shoes.—
Rylee Johnston,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
Thomas missed 57 games last season, mostly because of the same lingering left hamstring issue.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
On the one hand, that means that many survive the disease without serious lingering effects.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
18 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Ahmed Moustafa, who operates a halal cart near Yankee Stadium, is still crawling out from the pandemic.—
Yuna Kim,
New York Daily News,
6 May 2026
-
Detroit then went to Orlando and extended its hopes yet again — crawling out of a 24-point hole through a historic clampdown.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inching. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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