variants
also slews
or slues
as in marshes
spongy land saturated or partially covered with water
the land for miles around the lake is strewn with ponds, sloughs, and mudflats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
the unpleasant task of sloughing through the muck to retrieve the ball
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also sluffs
as in sheds
to cast (a natural bodily covering or appendage) aside
the snake is sloughing its old skin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sloughs
New Atlas, 26 Jan. 2026
Explore a white-sand beach and the sinks, swales, and sloughs found within the 2,500-acre Suwannee River Water Management District.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
They are found in a wide variety of habitats but prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs, pine flatwoods, and more open agricultural areas.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
If something happens to the water, land or the sloughs that hold the wild rice beds, the tribe has nowhere else to go, Tsosie explained.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Find a general area where ducks seem to be frequenting and then mark the public sloughs and potholes that can’t be seen from the road.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2025
Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 10 Feb. 2026
The stand collar is ideal for keeping the chill out, too, while a water-resistant fabric sloughs off rain and snow with ease.
—Michelle Tchea, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2026
This option by Neogen utilizes a three layer design, part of which is from 100% cotton mesh, that manually sloughs away dead skin cells.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
Hyperia then automatically slews to the target and performs an operation called astrometry – measuring the precise positions of stars to double-check its accuracy.
—New Atlas, 26 Jan. 2026
Explore a white-sand beach and the sinks, swales, and sloughs found within the 2,500-acre Suwannee River Water Management District.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
They are found in a wide variety of habitats but prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs, pine flatwoods, and more open agricultural areas.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
If something happens to the water, land or the sloughs that hold the wild rice beds, the tribe has nowhere else to go, Tsosie explained.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Find a general area where ducks seem to be frequenting and then mark the public sloughs and potholes that can’t be seen from the road.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
Primarily, there are beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) courtesy of lipo hydroxy acid (LHA), a deep-penetrating chemical exfoliant that gently sloughs off old, dead cells to reveal brighter, fresher skin.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 10 Feb. 2026
The stand collar is ideal for keeping the chill out, too, while a water-resistant fabric sloughs off rain and snow with ease.
—Michelle Tchea, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2026
This option by Neogen utilizes a three layer design, part of which is from 100% cotton mesh, that manually sloughs away dead skin cells.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sloughs
Noun
-
From coastal marshes to suburban gardens, flashes of iridescent green and ruby will soon dart between feeders and flowers.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
-
No colonial power had ever controlled the swamps and savannas of the interior—an alien land of lagoons, glade marshes, prairies, and hardwood thickets.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Surrounded by farmland and wetlands, three generations of the Hunter family have grown crops and raised cattle, chickens and horses in this quiet corner of northwest Indiana.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
-
And as the years are passing, climate change is getting worse, and the droughts are getting worse, and the fires are getting worse, and the ability for beaver wetlands to resist that was not changing.—
Mary Divine,
Twin Cities,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
From the Georgia swamps to the Appalachian Mountains to the Texas Hill Country, our dramatic regional landscapes are driving forces in many of the best Southern books for children and serve as catalysts for the actions and emotions of the characters.—
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
-
An endangered species native to West Africa, pygmy hippos typically live in forests and nearby swamps.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sloughs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sloughs. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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