as in dripping
to flow forth slowly through small openings
water percolating through the coffee filter
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Recent Examples of percolating
Various proposals for a bridge to Long Island have been percolating in different iterations for decades.
—
Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 8 Mar. 2026
As the new week began, another rationale was percolating lower down the chain of command.
—Marie-Rose Sheinerman, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
And while this trend has been percolating, the details around it remain murky.
—Korin Miller, SELF, 3 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, a secret flirtation might be percolating on the back burner.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
Sources said representatives from the BBC, BAFTA, and Penny Lane in the OB truck were unaware of the N-word slur until the story started percolating in media reports and on social media.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
On the eve of the opening ceremonies of the Milano Cortina Olympics, one of those irresistibly viral stories started percolating around the internet.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 23 Feb. 2026
Andrea Swensson’s research on the Mines provides a picture of the percolating Black music scene in the mid-to-late 1960s, the years Prince was coming of age.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Beyond rumors of which celebrity might be using it, however, there’s a question percolating about whether the GLP-1 medications might have a bonus application.
—Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2026
Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 8 Mar. 2026
As the new week began, another rationale was percolating lower down the chain of command.
—Marie-Rose Sheinerman, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
And while this trend has been percolating, the details around it remain murky.
—Korin Miller, SELF, 3 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, a secret flirtation might be percolating on the back burner.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
Sources said representatives from the BBC, BAFTA, and Penny Lane in the OB truck were unaware of the N-word slur until the story started percolating in media reports and on social media.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026
On the eve of the opening ceremonies of the Milano Cortina Olympics, one of those irresistibly viral stories started percolating around the internet.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 23 Feb. 2026
Andrea Swensson’s research on the Mines provides a picture of the percolating Black music scene in the mid-to-late 1960s, the years Prince was coming of age.
—Literary Hub, 17 Feb. 2026
Beyond rumors of which celebrity might be using it, however, there’s a question percolating about whether the GLP-1 medications might have a bonus application.
—Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for percolating
Verb
-
With the games dripping out, one at a time, the entire planet is focused on a single match while it is being played, all the eyes of the world resting on twenty-two elite athletes acting out a sporting telenovela, living making decisions without a script, under conditions of hysterical pressure.—
Jeffrey Pierre,
NPR,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Enhancing the extraterrestrial vibe are the two clear, plastic tubes (called drains) sprouting from their heads, through which all manner of blood and ooze exit the face, dripping into suction bulbs that dangle below their ears, storing the gunk.—
Jolene Edgar,
Allure,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This time, disruptions to shipping routes are interrupting those flows and that reduces the amount of money flowing back into financial markets, removing a key source of cash flows, the bank noted.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
18 Mar. 2026
-
As the drugs started flowing, King began breathing heavily, his body twitching.—
DAVID FISCHER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Those included issues with liquid hydrogen — a super-chilled propellant that is notorious for leaking — seeping out of the rocket at higher-than-acceptable rates during an initial fueling test.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Essentially, these function as drains for your windows, keeping water from seeping into the wood of your window frame and causing rot.—
Molly Burford,
Southern Living,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Venezuela, also star-laden, has been oozing aura throughout its time in the WBC and provided some electric moments in wins over Japan, Italy and a close loss to its Dominican Republic rival earlier in the tournament.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Rose Byrne is oozing pure elegance on the 98th Academy Awards red carpet.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Even as the Hudson Theatre was still filling up, the star of the Harry Potter movie franchise (and much theater after that) was bobbing and flitting from row to row, exuding equal parts friendliness and determination of purpose.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Even as the Hudson Theatre is still filling up, the star of the Harry Potter movie franchise, and much theater subsequent to that, is already flitting from row to row, exuding equal parts friendliness and determination of purpose.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Percolating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/percolating. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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