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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Lucy and Elsa have built their lives around men who may have dark sides lurking.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
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The Wolves rushed shots in and around the paint all night because Wembanyama was always lurking.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Verb
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After about a year at the park and sneaking onto a field with American-style uprights at Kanda University, where some of his friends went to school, Matsuzawa wanted to make his project more serious.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
15 May 2026
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Ignoring her stricken mother’s advice, Lucila decides to go back to Mexico City to mourn with her grandparents (Luisa Huertas and Guillermo Ríos) and other relatives, sneaking the deceased loved one’s ashes into her backpack.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Each of them is slipping behind.—
Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
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Stock futures are slipping before the bell after a positive session yesterday.—
Alex Harring,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Whitlock was able to recover and make a sliding catch to end the inning, but Wong did not return and was subbed out for Carlos Narvaez to catch the ninth.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
14 May 2026
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That led to bulkier versions that helped guard against limbs sliding between the cushion and tubes, ending with a final iteration that, much to Axelsson’s pride, some colleagues didn’t realize was filled with air until its inventor asked them to stand up and hoist it above their heads.—
Jack Bantock,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slinking. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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