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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of snakes
Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
The fence is designed to deter snakes from entering the dog park pens and biting the dogs running free within them.
—Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Home life seems to be a joy to be around too when Robbie recalled a time when the couple had to face snakes—one of Ackerley’s biggest fears.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 12 Feb. 2026
The shelves are packed with colorful Floridian fares, the air is perfumed with fresh fruit and baked goods, and a line of customers snakes through the center of the store.
—Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2026
The drawings represent snakes that swallow scenes played by skeletons.
—K. Desbouis, Artforum, 6 Feb. 2026
While their heads are unmarked, brown crossbands resembling an hourglass are visible along the snakes’ bodies.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2026
Reports of king cobras and other snakes found in railway stations, or wrapped around and even inside trains, have been on the rise in India.
—Richard Kemeny, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
There are no snakes, no venomous spiders, no large predators like wild cats or monkeys, and no scorpions.
—James Barrett, Travel + Leisure, 4 Feb. 2026
Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
The dining room features a sprawling chandelier that snakes its way across the ceiling.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 4 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
The skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago is an artificial trail that snakes a quarter-mile around towering climbing walls, with glittering skyscrapers for a backdrop.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 9 Jan. 2026
Englewood is home to Cedar Point Environmental Park along Lemon Bay, where pine flatwoods cover most of the park, and Oyster Creek Regional Park, where a boardwalk snakes through tidal mangroves, allowing visitors to enjoy bird-watching.
—Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 8 Dec. 2025
Two incumbents — west Charlotte’s Thelma Byers-Bailey and Summer Nunn, whose district snakes along the county’s southern border — chose not to run for reelection to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
—Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
In its search for ample sunlight, the species tightly snakes up trees.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 22 Oct. 2025
The campers and counselors died after torrential rain forced water levels on the river, which snakes through multiple summer camps in the region, to rise from 3 feet to 30 feet in a matter of hours.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
Instead substitute Padres for snakes.
—Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
The fence is designed to deter snakes from entering the dog park pens and biting the dogs running free within them.
—Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
Home life seems to be a joy to be around too when Robbie recalled a time when the couple had to face snakes—one of Ackerley’s biggest fears.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 12 Feb. 2026
The shelves are packed with colorful Floridian fares, the air is perfumed with fresh fruit and baked goods, and a line of customers snakes through the center of the store.
—Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 7 Feb. 2026
The drawings represent snakes that swallow scenes played by skeletons.
—K. Desbouis, Artforum, 6 Feb. 2026
While their heads are unmarked, brown crossbands resembling an hourglass are visible along the snakes’ bodies.
—Tanasia Kenney, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2026
Reports of king cobras and other snakes found in railway stations, or wrapped around and even inside trains, have been on the rise in India.
—Richard Kemeny, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2026
There are no snakes, no venomous spiders, no large predators like wild cats or monkeys, and no scorpions.
—James Barrett, Travel + Leisure, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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
The dining room features a sprawling chandelier that snakes its way across the ceiling.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 4 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
The skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago is an artificial trail that snakes a quarter-mile around towering climbing walls, with glittering skyscrapers for a backdrop.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 9 Jan. 2026
Englewood is home to Cedar Point Environmental Park along Lemon Bay, where pine flatwoods cover most of the park, and Oyster Creek Regional Park, where a boardwalk snakes through tidal mangroves, allowing visitors to enjoy bird-watching.
—Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 8 Dec. 2025
Two incumbents — west Charlotte’s Thelma Byers-Bailey and Summer Nunn, whose district snakes along the county’s southern border — chose not to run for reelection to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education.
—Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
In its search for ample sunlight, the species tightly snakes up trees.
—Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 22 Oct. 2025
The campers and counselors died after torrential rain forced water levels on the river, which snakes through multiple summer camps in the region, to rise from 3 feet to 30 feet in a matter of hours.
—Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snakes
Noun
-
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
-
Were a lot of serpents biting people in those days.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
All dogs brought to the beach must also be licensed by their local governments where their owners live.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The house where two dogs and two children roam reasonably freely is a gallery of things collected and things constructed by Green River Project.—
Robert Sullivan,
Vogue,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The challenge gave the faithful a chance to identify the traitors with just a few rounds left.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
-
But that does not mean that those Maryland families with pre-war Confederate roots were, or are, traitors.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In the American pop-culture feedback loop, at the football-movie intersection between sports and cinema and how the two inform and reflect each other, lurks a line delivery that lasts only a couple of seconds.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
-
This state of affairs allows the Thunder to be the giant that lurks quietly while pondering its choices before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline.—
Mike Vorkunov,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
This phase lasts 1 hour, 14 minutes as the deeper shadow creeps across the lunar face.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Here, the gentle tide creeps back and forth as a soothing marker of the passing day.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Other shipments sent by Lin included alligator lizards, venomous green tree vipers and palm pit vipers, all protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Now, young people are buying venomous pet vipers.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Carolyn sneaks into a gala; Klein, the fairy godmother, introduces her to the instantly besotted prince, John.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Nasir Khan, a scrawny Pakistani American college student living with his parents in Queens, sneaks out and drives his dad’s taxi to a party in Manhattan.—
Stephanie Bai,
The Atlantic,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As with aftermarket switchable sway bar systems, drivers can lock the sway bars in place for better handling and stability at speed and unlock them completely for maximum articulation during bumpy rock crawls.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Ma crawls toward you and plants her palms on your cheeks.—
Molly Aitken,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snakes. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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