Synonyms of reels

reels 1 of 2

noun

plural of reel

as in wheels

a rapid turning about on an axis or central point

she slipped and, after an out-of-control reel, fell on her backside

Synonyms & Similar Words

• wheels
• rotations
• spins
• rolls
• twirls
• curves
• revolutions
• curls
• twists
• gyrations
• coils
• pirouettes
• circles
• spirals
• circuits
• whirls
• rounds
• rings
• orbits
• whorls
• circulations
• eddies
• swirls

reels

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of reel

1

as in spins

to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around

his mind reeled upon hearing the news that his employer had been indicted for fraud

Synonyms & Similar Words

• spins
• swims
• whirls
• turns
• swirls

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• collects
• calms
• settles
• steadies

2

as in staggers

to move forward while swaying from side to side

got off the amusement park ride reeling and barely able to stand

Synonyms & Similar Words

• staggers
• lurches
• weaves
• rolls
• shuffles
• stomps
• totters
• stumbles
• waddles
• rocks
• teeters
• careens
• dodders
• sways
• seesaws
• wobbles
• wavers
• barges
• stamps
• flounders
• clumps
• pounds
• blunders
• clomps
• shambles
• scuffs
• lumps
• tramps
• swags
• lumbers
• galumphs
• scuffles
• tromps

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of reels

Noun

Yankovic gets most of his food recommendations by either word of mouth or scrolling Instagram reels. — Eric Ducker, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

More important sonically, Collins and his collaborators located the original tapes, including 7-inch studio reels recorded at 15 ips and, through Cynthia Lee, the EP master. — Cary Baker, SPIN, 20 Oct. 2026

Customers don’t experience organizations through highlight reels. — Rhodes Kriske, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Surprise, surprise, the crime had a supernatural basis—and is linked to a number of others, all brutally depicted in reels of film left in his attic. — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026

Greaves died in 2014; his widow managed to secure a grant to restore the 16mm reels before her death in 2023. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026

Tu Duu-chih, who handled the film’s original sound mix, returned to help restore the Taiwanese soundtrack from six primary audio reels. — Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Mohanad Yaqubi’s Revolutionaries Never Die, taking its cue from 113 reels of films preserved by Lebanese filmmaker Jocelyne Saab, will also compete. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2026

So long ago, too, that maybe some highlight reels had been put together. — Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026

Verb

As the campus community reels from the news, there’s been an outpouring of support from fellow students. — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026

In other words, OpenAI needs a competent team of AI ethicists now than ever before as the industry reels from the possibility of frontier AI models going rogue, in what many experts say is a cybersecurity nightmare in the making. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026

As Venezuela reels from twin quakes that killed more than 2,295 people, acting leader Delcy Rodríguez mounts her first defense of the response. — Regina Garcia Cano, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026

This wrenches the chromosomes apart into two sets and reels them to opposite ends of the cytoplasm sea. — Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2026

After Saturday night’s shooting that left two dead, neighbors are voicing their frustrations — and fears — as the community reels from another shooting that has left two more teenagers dead. — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 28 June 2026

There’s a lot to digest as the hockey world reels from the stunning Dylan Larkin news that came out Thursday, his trade request putting the Detroit Red Wings in an unenviable spot. — Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 5 June 2026

As America reels from 9/11, something resonates within Franny and an unexpected tenderness begins to bloom. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 13 May 2026

As Hawaii reels from some of the worst flooding to hit the region in decades, one good Samaritan is taking to the waterways to paddle pets left behind to safety. — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026