1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in dogs
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
why, that dirty, rotten snake!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
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!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of 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
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
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
Noun
-
About 90% of dogs with Lyme disease show no symptoms, the association said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
18 May 2026
-
This, afterall, was a family who when Avedon was a child growing up in Manhattan, would sometimes borrow other people’s pet dogs to complete the happy family photo.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
The president has spent a decade calling his rivals communists and traitors, among other hyperbolic insults.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Military culture is fiercely self-protective, and soldiers who criticize it are usually treated as traitors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the most worrisome aspect of any collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda is the supermassive black hole that lurks at the center of each.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
22 May 2026
-
But a killer by the name of Leather Man lurks.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
This is where over-reliance creeps in.—
Gregory Lipich,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
Hesitation creeps in, options narrow and teams begin playing within themselves.—
Rick Burton,
Sportico.com,
18 May 2026
Noun
-
Dangerous reptiles like cobras, mambas, vipers, anacondas and rattlesnakes are all banned from private ownership.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The animal enthusiast has since fished vipers from beneath houses, underneath baby cribs, the inside of dry wall, the back of a refrigerator, a fire department, a Safeway and scores of other spots.—
Kurtis Alexander,
San Francisco Chronicle,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That day, Riley had been editing a sequence in which Corvette sneaks into a San Francisco condo owned by Christie, her fashion idol, by hiding inside a coffee delivery cart.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
While the males are fighting, the female sneaks off to get some quick action behind enemy lines.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Critics on the Croisette are starting to resemble that classic comic-strip panel in which an explorer crawls desperately across the sand toward an oasis that’s only a mirage.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
-
Walking between Valmiermuiža, Labietis, Taka, and Nurme makes for one of the easiest and most enjoyable beer crawls in Europe.—
Jim Dobson,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snakes. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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