SNAKES Synonyms: 224 Similar and Opposite Words

snakes 1 of 2

noun

plural of snake

as in serpents

a limbless reptile with a long body snakes are cold-blooded, so they regulate their body temperature by alternately basking in sunlight and seeking shade

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Relevance

as in dogs

a person whose behavior is offensive to others why, that dirty, rotten snake!

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in traitors

one who betrays a trust or an allegiance what a snake she was—having an affair with my husband while I was in the hospital!

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snakes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of snake

as in lurks

to move about in a sly or secret manner snaking softly through the brush

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as in creeps

to move slowly with the body close to the ground commandos snaking through the grass toward the house

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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 snakes

Noun

The new series was filmed primarily outdoors in Texas, presenting challenges like extreme heat and venomous snakes. —

Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 15 May 2026 There are snakes and hyenas and wild dogs. —

Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 13 May 2026 Kleinman said that snakes, including copperheads, play an important role in the ecosystem. —

Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 9 May 2026 The nature center is a great stop with live snakes, bugs and other crawly creepers inside. —

Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026 While you may be tempted to blame other animals such as opossums or snakes, or even coyotes for making holes or burrows in your yard, these creatures are more likely to use existing animal holes for their dens. —

Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 May 2026 Vast terrain hinders search The immediate area in Stewart County where the search is currently contained is covered with big trees and steep hills, as well as snakes and ticks, according to the sheriff. —

Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 6 May 2026 Or … smell … a cave full of snakes … with another creature’s nose. —

Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 4 May 2026 The snakes are typically shy around bigger animals. —

Sarah Linn may 1, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026

Verb

Legislation in Louisiana seeks to address the Supreme Court ruling by scrapping a district that snakes over 200 miles (321 kilometers) northwest from the capital, Baton Rouge, to Shreveport, creating a voting bloc with a majority of Black residents. —

ABC News, 14 May 2026 Another car snakes down the road. —

Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026 Londoners won’t queue for just anything, but the coffee and pastries at Jolene are well worth joining the line that often snakes around the corner. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026 To accommodate the mass of passengers, the line snakes through baggage claim and around the terminal. —

Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026 Miraculously, the line of people that usually snakes down Melrose yearning for a slice of chef Karla Subero Pittol’s passion lime fruit icebox pie is nonexistent today. —

Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026 In southwest Russia, where the border with eastern Ukraine snakes down to the Sea of Azov, lies the city of Rostov-on-Don, which serves as the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District. —

Sophie Spiegelberger, New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2026 From the mouth of Lake of the Woods, the Warroad River snakes through the middle of the city limits, a few blocks from the headquarters of Marvin Windows and Doors, the employer as synonymous with the town as the sport of hockey. —

Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026 Make the Road Action and New York Communities for Change backed Reynoso over rival Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in the battle for the deep-blue district that snakes through parts of northern Brooklyn and western Queens. —

Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for snakes

Noun

Those serpents include six rattlesnake species and non-rattlers, such as the Copperhead, Water Moccasin (or Cottonmouth) and Eastern Coral snakes.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Laocoön and His Sons, an exquisite marble sculpture of the legendary Trojan priest writhing in agony as he’s attacked by sea-serpents, was first unearthed in the early sixteenth-century, the only missing piece his right arm.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026