slithering

present participle of slither
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground a snake slithering through the garden

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slithering Here are seven solutions to keep these animals slithering past your yard. Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 6 July 2026 There are anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) currently slithering through the Florida Everglades. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 July 2026 North Carolina is crawling, or perhaps slithering, with copperheads. Eva Flowe, Charlotte Observer, 22 June 2026 On land, movements range from crawling and slithering (worms, mollusks, arthropods, snakes) to walking and running. Literary Hub, 22 June 2026 His wife, Cheryl Hines, is heard off camera asking him to be careful with the slithering reptiles. Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 26 May 2026 But his idealized vision of a past paradise of social cohesion that late-stage capitalism destroyed doesn’t reckon with the snakes that were always there in this imaginary Eden, including a personal betrayal that’s close to home and only comes slithering out in a moment of drunken weakness. Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026 Embiid is waiting to impede Bridges, but Bridges doesn’t even touch him, instead slithering around his left hip. Fred Katz, New York Times, 15 May 2026 As Seth seethes about his separation from his home country (and the family fortune), Arias interweaves a backstory involving assassination, undisclosed parentage and (as the title suggests) the perilous creatures slithering across the landscape. Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slithering
Verb
  • There are no shortage of issues with this club, but one that is creeping back into its clubhouse, and the franchise, is comfort.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The prospect of deploying fully autonomous drones on the battlefield may seem to be creeping closer.
    Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The feat, says study coauthor and NSO senior scientist Friedrich Wöger, is equivalent to seeing ants crawling on Earth’s surface from an altitude of 100 miles (about 160 km).
    Lee Billings, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026
  • If your garden has been beset by destructive crawling insects like ants, beetles, and slugs, pesticides often seem like the clear solution.
    Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Previously centered on Nashville and central Tennessee, the district now extends to the northwest corner of the state before snaking south along the Mississippi River to Memphis.
    ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Towering over the Central Business District and the snaking ribbon of the Waller Creek Greenbelt Trail, this 37-story hotel stands out amidst the Austin skyline.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 July 2026
Verb
  • An Intensity Slider – a simple sliding bar adjustment for controlling the depth, vibrancy, brightness and contrast of the TV’s pictures to compensate for viewing angles, onscreen reflections and simply different viewing tastes.
    John Archer, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Originally housing offices, its heyday in Detroit’s industrial age was brief, sliding into decline in the 1960s and ultimately going vacant.
    Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Slithering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slithering. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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