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 Since the nineteen-nineties, a Korean New Wave had been praised for embedding capitalist critique in movies packed with monsters, slithering octopuses, killers, and killer cops. — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 Officials issued the alert Monday after a man shared with police an image appearing to show the dangerous reptile slithering from the thin branch of a tree onto the roof of a backyard shed. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Perhaps the most striking styles in the lineup stood on curvaceous, sculptural heels resembling slithering snakes. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026 There was unexpected wildlife – a screeching macaque and a viper slithering across a path. — Everett Potter, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 This is believed to be the first slithering creature seen at a football practice since Drew Rosenhaus. — Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026 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 On land, movements range from crawling and slithering (worms, mollusks, arthropods, snakes) to walking and running. — Literary Hub, 22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slithering
Verb
  • Finally, while work is underway to build a formal framework for economic espionage, Congress must prevent any creeping erosion of the existing norm through the potentially corrupt dissemination of intelligence to favored companies.
    — DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Yep, there are more and more signs creeping in by the election cycle.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • At the hospital, an insect fell from the girl’s shoe, and a staffer saw a cockroach crawling on her, the district attorney’s office said.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Of course, an extra three-quarters of an inch clearance and some elastic straps do not transform a unibody, front-biased crossover into an invincible rock-crawling monster.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Those facilities include long plastic silobags snaking across fields and towering metal grain elevators that are themselves increasingly vulnerable to military strikes.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026
  • By Wednesday afternoon, the line for visitor passes to get on base for the ship’s homecoming stretched several hundred feet, snaking across the lawn in front of the building and doubling back on itself.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 8 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • With primary colors and winter gear Wondering how to avoid sliding across the sidewalk or catching a cold and still stay fashionable in extreme weather conditions?
    — Catie Pusateri, Glamour, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The rooms Every single one of the 75 rooms is ocean-facing, with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors framing the view, and leading to private terraces perched above the mangroves.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Slithering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slithering. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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