as in giddy
having a feeling of being whirled about and in danger of falling down
the blood donor experienced a reeling sensation after standing up too quickly
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in staggering
to move forward while swaying from side to side
got off the amusement park ride reeling and barely able to stand
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of reeling
Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2025
Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
And even if Ellison surprises people and actually keeps CNN siloed off from Weiss’s project at CBS, the amount of debt his new company will carry very likely means CNN, already reeling from cuts under current WB Discovery boss David Zaslav’s rule, will see its budget and ambitions shrink.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
The new single is a smart step forward for Bashment Sound, even as fans are still reeling from their Grammy snub.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 27 Feb. 2026
As the two continued to qaurrel, the younger man punched Finale, sending him reeling backwards onto the sidewalk, where the victim struck his head.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Connor Clifton and Egor Chinakhov scored 50 seconds apart in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins surged past Jack Hughes and the reeling New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night.
—CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
The Northeast is reeling from extreme snowfall and powerful winds that slammed the region overnight Sunday and throughout the day Monday, prompting blizzard conditions as more than two feet of snow blanketed several states.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 24 Feb. 2026
Those vendors, however, are reeling themselves following a blizzard that dropped 1 to 3 feet of snow on Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states and roughly 1 to 2 feet in Connecticut.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
With an industry still reeling from a major global production contraction, all eyes are on the above-the-line unions who are set to make new deals with the major studios in the coming months after a contentious round of 2023 bargaining that led to historically long, dual writers and actors strikes.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
Even if Lee were sober and thinking straight, her alluring, blows-hot-and-cold Betty Jo would be impossible for a guy like Lee — reckless, reeling, distractible — to resist.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
First, famed filmmaker James Cameron endorsed Paramount, saying a Netflix takeover would lead to massive job losses in the entertainment industry, which is already reeling from a production slowdown in Southern California that has disrupted the lives of thousands of film industry workers.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
And even if Ellison surprises people and actually keeps CNN siloed off from Weiss’s project at CBS, the amount of debt his new company will carry very likely means CNN, already reeling from cuts under current WB Discovery boss David Zaslav’s rule, will see its budget and ambitions shrink.
—Josef Adalian, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2026
The new single is a smart step forward for Bashment Sound, even as fans are still reeling from their Grammy snub.
—Kyle Denis, Billboard, 27 Feb. 2026
As the two continued to qaurrel, the younger man punched Finale, sending him reeling backwards onto the sidewalk, where the victim struck his head.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 26 Feb. 2026
Connor Clifton and Egor Chinakhov scored 50 seconds apart in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins surged past Jack Hughes and the reeling New Jersey Devils 4-1 on Thursday night.
—CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
The Northeast is reeling from extreme snowfall and powerful winds that slammed the region overnight Sunday and throughout the day Monday, prompting blizzard conditions as more than two feet of snow blanketed several states.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 24 Feb. 2026
Those vendors, however, are reeling themselves following a blizzard that dropped 1 to 3 feet of snow on Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states and roughly 1 to 2 feet in Connecticut.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
With an industry still reeling from a major global production contraction, all eyes are on the above-the-line unions who are set to make new deals with the major studios in the coming months after a contentious round of 2023 bargaining that led to historically long, dual writers and actors strikes.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reeling
Adjective
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And Max Minghella, hard-eyed but soft-spoken, makes a giddy villain.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
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The New York BFFs make blingy electroclash and giddy EDM inspired by online brainrot and good ol’ fashioned blackouts.—
Lydia Wei,
Pitchfork,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But are the phrases truly Charlotte slang, or is DaBaby spinning a tall tale?—
Evan Moore,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Feb. 2026
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Another is that many are tinkering with the latest tools, spinning up a website in hours with Claude Code or using its newer cousin Cowork to answer LinkedIn messages.—
Parmy Olson,
Mercury News,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Dash camera video posted by the Huber Heights Police Department on its Facebook page shows the worker rolling the bin toward a garbage truck, lifting the lid and quickly staggering back before pointing toward the container as officers pull up.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Cheng likes to build muni bond ladders, which means staggering the maturity dates of multiple bonds.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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When the ride stopped, the dizzy players rushed to an empty carnival to look for money before racing back and grabbing a seat on the attraction, as seats were removed each round in a musical‑chairs‑style elimination.—
Bebe Hodges,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
20 Feb. 2026
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When the ride stopped, the dizzy players rushed to an empty carnival to look for money before racing back and grabbing a seat on the attraction, as seats were removed each round in a musical‑chairs‑style elimination.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The two sides have been lurching toward this end for a while now.—
Josh Kendall,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2026
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Brant, who was elected in a special election in August, inherited an office already in disarray, in a county that has spent the past year lurching from one government crisis to the next.—
Nick El Hajj,
Des Moines Register,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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From finishes to fabrics, textures, and tones, weaving pieces throughout your home will create a fresh and exciting feel, says Schehr.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
25 Feb. 2026
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His rise was connected to so many aspects of modern American life, from reality television and information technology to gender politics and deindustrialization, that weaving it in seemed not just natural but inevitable.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Reeling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reeling. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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