as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the poking pace of the repair work has put everything way behind schedule
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in protruding
to extend outward beyond a usual point
saw his head poking through the window
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in messing
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
told him to stop poking into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in lingering
to move or act slowly
just poked around all morning and didn't accomplish much
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in dragging
to move slowly
they were just poking along home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poking
Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
As the miles dragged on, a chase vehicle crept by periodically with cameras poking out the window to capture scenes that could later be shared on social media, where Emanuel now has an almost daily presence.
—ABC News, 9 June 2026
New historical research suggests that one of the most legendary cities in history did not start out as a conquering warrior state — poking a hole in its founding myth.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
While Prince never got that dark, he was known to enjoy poking fun at Jackson.
—Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 7 June 2026
But because Towns was in position, Anunoby, Bridges and Hart each feasted by reaching-in and poking the ball free.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026
Please stop poking into his life!
—Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
That was due to the fact that the majority of the house never put up an ounce of resistance, leading to a long, boring slog of a season that was only interrupted by bouts of bullying and cringe-worthy comments poking fun at rape, race, and the trans community.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
Plenty of skilled directors can manipulate tension and fear while still poking us toward nervous laughter.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Verb
Pulisic, the American star who is under intense pressure to perform in this tournament, set up the goal, pushing the ball between a pair of defenders before poking it on for McKennie in the center of the box.
—Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
As the miles dragged on, a chase vehicle crept by periodically with cameras poking out the window to capture scenes that could later be shared on social media, where Emanuel now has an almost daily presence.
—ABC News, 9 June 2026
New historical research suggests that one of the most legendary cities in history did not start out as a conquering warrior state — poking a hole in its founding myth.
—Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
While Prince never got that dark, he was known to enjoy poking fun at Jackson.
—Keith Murphy, VIBE.com, 7 June 2026
But because Towns was in position, Anunoby, Bridges and Hart each feasted by reaching-in and poking the ball free.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026
Please stop poking into his life!
—Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
That was due to the fact that the majority of the house never put up an ounce of resistance, leading to a long, boring slog of a season that was only interrupted by bouts of bullying and cringe-worthy comments poking fun at rape, race, and the trans community.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
Plenty of skilled directors can manipulate tension and fear while still poking us toward nervous laughter.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poking
Adjective
-
In 1943, Shalit headed to the University of Illinois and took a leisurely six years to earn his degree.—
Chris Koseluk,
HollywoodReporter,
12 June 2026
-
That leisurely pace would lead only to more murder, and more assassinations.—
Wesley Morris,
New York Times,
9 June 2026
Verb
-
Features such as surface roughness and protruding fibers create more sites where particles can stick to the outer surface rather than passing through.—
Sumit Mandal,
The Conversation,
9 June 2026
-
Elsewhere on the trophy, there are the original rules to soccer, from 1863, which include a proscription on players having nails, iron plates, or gutta-percha—a Malaysian rubberlike material, now used in root canals—protruding from their boots.—
Sam Knight,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Marilyn, Nixon, the Kennedys, Bay of Pigs—we’ve seen Ellroy messing with this material long before the Quintet.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Countless Renditions Campbell’s wasn't the only one messing with the tomato soup cake formula.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Inventories are unlikely to fully rebuild given the scale of draws in the first half-year and ongoing government stockpiling, the bank said, while lingering geopolitical risk premium would keep a floor under prices.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
16 June 2026
-
Southern Living also noted that local tourism officials are encouraging visitors to return to the region, as many businesses remain open and rely on tourism dollars despite lingering perceptions that the area is still closed following Hurricane Helene.—
Evan Moore,
Charlotte Observer,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Mbappé has already been a hero for his country, winning the World Cup in 2018 and scoring a hat-trick in the 2022 final while almost dragging his team to an unlikely defense of the title.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
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Avoid activities that could create a spark, including campfires, outdoor burning and dragging trailer chains.—
Joe Ruch,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Dems slow to embrace data center resistance McMillan Cottom suggested that no public officials on the right or the left have perfected their messaging to align with anti-data center sentiments.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
-
Eating a donut earlier in the day is easier on your body than eating it at night when insulin sensitivity and metabolism slow.—
Brandi Jones,
Verywell Health,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
The Kennedy Center’s leadership argued in its appeal Friday that the renovation was badly needed and accused the lower court, in terms that seemed similar to Trump’s speech patterns, of interfering in the effort.—
Steven Sloan,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2026
-
The Department of Justice had at one point investigated whether Pulte and his team were interfering in ongoing investigations.—
Lauren Peller,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
For cybersecurity companies, identifying a digital agent crawling a website used to be enough evidence of malicious activity.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
17 June 2026
-
The challenge, of course, is that cleaning baseboards often involves crawling around on hands and knees, a task few people are eager to do.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
13 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Poking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poking. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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