NOSING Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

nosing

verb

Definition of nosing

present participle of nose

as in sniffing

to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose could nose the garbage from across the street

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in interfering

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern a neighbor who likes to nose around in everyone else's business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dragging

to move slowly the line to get tickets is just nosing, so we are going to be here for a while

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nosing

Verb

Alaniz then detained her for a drug-sniffing dog, which alerted to the vehicle.

— Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
And security inside Alice Tully Hall, where the film premiered, was certainly tight—metal detectors, physical checks of bags, K9 bomb-sniffing dogs.

— Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of sniffing

Verb

If this is the players insisting on this alignment, or ownership interfering in roster mechanics, this Oilers team is headed for disaster.

— Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
The terms of the restraining order will bar Gupta and his gallery from interfering at all with Longcraft’s interest in the works.

— News Desk, Artforum, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of interfering

Verb

But an owners representative claims that part of the problem was Erica and Peter dragging their feet on providing backup documents for their application package.

— Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 8 Oct. 2026
Another video shows two men beating and dragging a man into a car.

— Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

Dove adds that the skin’s microbiome shifts with hormonal changes, aging and lifestyle habits, which can lead to more odor-causing bacteria breaking down sweat into stronger-smelling compounds.

— Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Ants line up and overrun a picnic through smelling a neighbor’s pheromones with their tiny antennae.

— Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of smelling

Verb

Researchers have developed a paper-thin foot membrane that lets crawling microrobots harvest electricity directly from the ground beneath them, ditching heavy onboard batteries by turning metal and silicon surfaces into an active power source.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 Oct. 2026
Traffic cameras showed that northbound traffic was bumper-to-bumper and crawling along I-35 before being detoured from the highway.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of crawling

Verb

But some people abuse it by inhaling it to feel relaxed or euphoric.

— Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026
Tottenham attempted to offload Bissouma last summer, and the club later initiated another internal investigation after an image leaked of Bissouma inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon again.

— Colin Millar, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of inhaling

Verb

Sometimes only the tips of the reeds and the seed heads were visible, poking above the murky water, and other times the reeds stood fully exposed, with a clear view of crabs clambering around their bases.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Video posted to social media showed one car nearly submerged, with just its sunroof poking above the water, as people moved other vehicles farther from the rising tides.

— Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of poking

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.

Browse Nearby Words

nosiness

nosing

nosing out

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Nosing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nosing. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of nosing

verb

Example Sentences

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