as in lurking
to move about in a sly or secret manner
like a thief slinking about in the middle of the night
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Recent Examples of slinking
Once the performers appear, slinking in from the sides of the stage, the show firmly takes shape and eases smoothly from one episode from the Gospels to the next.
—
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
In the official teaser, Lowen is slinking around the Crawford family house wearing a silk robe while Verity is fast asleep in bed.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
Psarras spends the majority of his time slinking through space, scanning the highly detailed living room of opulence for the next steps of Tony’s grisly plan (the varied set design, which includes some ingenious touches with translucent walls, is by Ron Gasparinetti) .
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
And Taylor telegraphs this through every beguiling movement, sometimes slinking, other times exuding braggadocio.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
Either way, Invisigal is in the room listening to her friends debate her fate, noticeably slinking out as the door seemingly opens on its own.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
When infertility came for me, my response was to pursue pregnancy with an ever-narrowing focus, incrementally eliminating everything else in my life—quitting my job, slinking away from friendships, disappearing from the wider world.
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
With the same playfulness of her makeup, Woods slicked the body of her hair in a bun on top of her head; her caramel-colored curled ends slinking around.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
Now summer is slinking off and autumn is rushing in, cool and a little wistful.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 3 May 2026
In the official teaser, Lowen is slinking around the Crawford family house wearing a silk robe while Verity is fast asleep in bed.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
Psarras spends the majority of his time slinking through space, scanning the highly detailed living room of opulence for the next steps of Tony’s grisly plan (the varied set design, which includes some ingenious touches with translucent walls, is by Ron Gasparinetti) .
—David John Chávez, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2026
And Taylor telegraphs this through every beguiling movement, sometimes slinking, other times exuding braggadocio.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025
Either way, Invisigal is in the room listening to her friends debate her fate, noticeably slinking out as the door seemingly opens on its own.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
When infertility came for me, my response was to pursue pregnancy with an ever-narrowing focus, incrementally eliminating everything else in my life—quitting my job, slinking away from friendships, disappearing from the wider world.
—Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
With the same playfulness of her makeup, Woods slicked the body of her hair in a bun on top of her head; her caramel-colored curled ends slinking around.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 16 Sep. 2025
Now summer is slinking off and autumn is rushing in, cool and a little wistful.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slinking
Verb
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Created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, The Boroughs followed a group of older misfits at a retirement community who become entangled in an otherworldly mystery lurking beneath them.—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 June 2026
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The breakthrough points to a supermassive black hole lurking at the center of our galaxy.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Verb
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While that move threatened a major energy price shock, trade flows have since reorientated, governments have taken emergency measures, and a growing stream of oil is now sneaking out of the waterway under cover of darkness.—
Bloomberg,
Oc Register,
12 June 2026
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More volumes sneaking out of the Middle East via pipeline and the Gulf also are contributing.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Alpha Camp made decent time, even with Leiya slipping on rocks in the river.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
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Everyone from Jennifer Lawrence to Bad Bunny has been slipping into the sleek thong sandal—styling it casually with jeans and a hoodie, or dressed up with a chic floral dress.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
17 June 2026
Verb
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Four minutes later South Korea created its best chance to score tonight but a sliding Lee Kang-in could not get his foot on a beautiful cross into the box.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
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In the fourth inning, Witt attempted to make a sliding grab on his knees on the infield dirt.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slinking. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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