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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slinking
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
The titanically prolific King is himself workmanlike on a sentence level, but his ideas have a way of slinking into the subconscious and taking root.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025
The women wear stunning fashion numbers, Sebastian’s wife Dineo Price slinking down a staircase in a cleavage revealing skimpy number in its opening minutes.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 13 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
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
The titanically prolific King is himself workmanlike on a sentence level, but his ideas have a way of slinking into the subconscious and taking root.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025
The women wear stunning fashion numbers, Sebastian’s wife Dineo Price slinking down a staircase in a cleavage revealing skimpy number in its opening minutes.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 13 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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Their debut album, Forever, sounds like temporarily regressing to your childhood self while tripping—a kind of gleaming innocence desperately fending off the darkness of adulthood lurking at the periphery.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
6 Nov. 2025
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The Longhorns, Sooners, Miami and USC are among some of the higher-profile teams lurking on the fringe of the bracket, while schools such as Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Utah could still find a way to crash the party.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Loomer started sneaking into her fund-raisers.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
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The shoe’s hook-and-loop closure is another standout feature that keeps feet securely in place and prevents cold air from sneaking in.—
Melony Forcier,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The program’s pulse felt faint, its identity slipping further with each loss.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
9 Nov. 2025
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The Buffs dropped their third game in a row at Milan Puskar Stadium, falling 29-22 against the Mountaineers and slipping to 3-7 on a lost season.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Hydroplaning is the term for when a vehicle begins sliding uncontrollably on wet roads.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
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Or are the Seminoles at risk of sliding into irrelevance if trips to the Gator Bowl become acceptable?—
Matt Baker,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slinking. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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