Synonyms of poking

poking 1 of 2

adjective

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

• leisurely
• slow
• dragging
• crawling
• creeping
• lagging
• poky
• dallying
• dilatory
• dillydallying
• slowing
• unhurried
• laggard
• dawdling
• sluggish
• tardy
• languid
• snaillike
• lounging
• lingering
• deliberate
• snail-paced
• loitering
• ambling
• lethargic
• inert
• shuffling
• measured
• loafing
• plodding
• inactive
• strolling
• procrastinating
• decelerating
• tarrying
• inching
• stalling
• heavy-footed
• filibustering
• slow-footed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• rushing
• running
• flying
• rapid
• lightning
• quick
• swift
• racing
• speeding
• breathless
• hasty
• speedy
• bolting
• dizzy
• brisk
• ready
• rocketing
• snappy
• fast
• whirlwind
• prompt
• fleet
• meteoric
• whirling
• hurrying
• scurrying
• expeditious
• scooting
• zipping
• scudding
• barreling
• whisking
• breakneck
• careering
• accelerated
• warp-speed
• rushed
• hastened
• quickened
• hurried

poking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of poke

1

as in protruding

to extend outward beyond a usual point

saw his head poking through the window

Synonyms & Similar Words

• protruding
• bulging
• jutting
• projecting
• swelling
• pouting
• overhanging
• standing out
• sticking out
• billowing
• bunching
• ballooning
• bellying
• starting
• pooching
• pouching
• extending
• beetling
• bagging
• stretching
• lengthening
• inflating
• distending
• expanding
• dilating
• doming
• mushrooming
• snowballing
• elongating
• blowing up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• contracting
• shrinking
• compressing
• condensing
• constricting

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

• messing
• interfering
• snooping
• prying
• intervening
• intruding
• meddling
• nosing
• obtruding
• interloping
• intermeddling
• butting in
• invading
• mucking (about or around)
• fooling
• encroaching
• interceding
• fiddling
• playing
• interposing
• tampering
• trespassing
• infringing
• monkeying
• barging (in)
• chiseling (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• avoiding
• ignoring
• eschewing
• shunning
• neglecting
• disregarding
• overlooking

3

as in lingering

to move or act slowly

just poked around all morning and didn't accomplish much

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lingering
• dragging
• crawling
• delaying
• strolling
• creeping
• playing
• loitering
• shuffling
• diddling
• dawdling
• lagging
• falling behind
• moping
• stalling
• lollygagging
• hanging fire
• dropping behind
• lounging
• marking time
• tarrying
• dallying
• dillydallying
• idling
• taking one's time
• dragging one's feet
• staggering
• sauntering
• loafing
• shilly-shallying
• ambling
• lolling
• inching
• fiddling (around)
• puttering (around)
• hanging (around or out)
• trifling
• fooling around
• pottering (around)
• messing around
• monkeying (around)
• decelerating
• procrastinating
• plodding
• easing
• temporizing
• lumbering
• slowing (down or up)
• filibustering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flying
• tearing
• running
• ripping
• rushing
• scurrying
• hurrying
• whirling
• whizzing
• dashing
• racing
• scooting
• speeding
• zipping
• darting
• bolting
• scudding
• whisking
• coursing
• hastening
• barreling
• scrambling
• careering
• rocketing
• humping
• hurtling
• running
• hustling
• stampeding
• trotting
• breezing
• bowling
• galloping
• jogging
• sprinting
• accelerating
• hotfooting (it)
• quickening
• speeding (up)
• overtaking
• outrunning
• catching up
• outpacing
• outstripping
• fast-forwarding

4

as in dragging

to move slowly

they were just poking along home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dragging
• crawling
• creeping
• shuffling
• oozing
• inching
• slouching
• limping
• creaking (along)
• snailing
• nosing
• plodding
• trudging
• shambling
• tramping
• lumbering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flying
• racing
• floating
• speeding
• sailing
• whizzing
• gliding
• tearing
• zipping
• hurrying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of poking

Verb

But Vicki immediately goes past Meredith Marks (disengaging) to Amanda Frances (opening her laptop and working), even as the others try to earn their paychecks by poking at her. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026

Milk Stage of Kernels Check the kernels on an ear by poking it with your fingernail. — Danielle Ernest, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Aug. 2026

In one shot, the spikes of a stegosaurus’s tail, poking out over a row of foliage, wittily suggest a shark’s fin breaking the surface. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

In a video of the evacuation Enciso pulled up on his phone, Ravenswood streets are indistinguishable from the adjacent waterway – save for cars and rooftops poking up through the flood. — Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 15 Aug. 2026

Carrington has previously garnered controversy for poking Cunningham's teammate Caitlin Clark in the eye during the 2024 playoffs, and making controversial statements in the media. — Jackson Thompson , Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026

At first glance, corals present as little more than colorful rocks — piles of lobes, stalagmites, and branches poking out from the seafloor. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026

Carpenter suggests applying it to vertical surfaces, or using soaked cotton balls in open glass jars (or poking holes in the lids to allow the fumes to escape). — The Spruce, 4 Aug. 2026

On the scale of poking the bear, mocking Buc-ees in defense of other regional convenience store chains is low risk. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2026