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

Eventually, Bird’s film — with a script co-written by Matthew Robbins — gets to the meat of the action when Venus’ extremely complicated life runs smack into Ray and his knack for sniffing out bad guys.

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026
In the doorframe was the manager, sniffing around, suspicions aroused.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of sniffing

Verb

Its inclusion in the documentary has provided ammunition for Musk supporters and his lawyers to discredit the film, pointing to an unfounded conspiracy theory about SpaceX’s Starlink satellites interfering in the election.

— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026
The automakers also object to the government interfering in parts of the design that don’t improve the safety of the vehicle, saying a radio is different from seat belts and airbags.

— Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of interfering

Verb

He’s also been known to engage with those who might not be fans of his comedic stylings, publicly arguing back and forth with civilians, dragging them on his social media for his fans to see.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026
Beaches typically go through a seasonal cycle with powerful winter waves dragging sand out to sea and more mild summer waves depositing the sand back onshore.

— Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

Josh Hartnett plays fisherman Calvin Penney, attempting to harvest blue ice for vodka in the face of declining stocks, but finding his haul smelling strangely of ammonia.

— Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
The products were Park Hyatt’s usual—delicious-smelling La Labo toiletries.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of smelling

Verb

At the hospital, an insect fell from the girl’s shoe, and a staffer saw a cockroach crawling on her, the district attorney’s office said.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Of course, an extra three-quarters of an inch clearance and some elastic straps do not transform a unibody, front-biased crossover into an invincible rock-crawling monster.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 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

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Style

“Nosing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nosing. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of nosing

verb

Example Sentences

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