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
Relevance
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
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
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Unlike regular drain snakes that require manual control, the DrainShroom disposable drain snakes are designed to attach to any power drill to create a highly effective hair clog grabbing tool.
—Tory Johnson, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, successful female contestants like two-time champion Parvati Shallow have been framed as snakes and black widows.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
About 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes annually, and — despite the two recent deaths in Southern California — only around five of the people who are bitten typically die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Attendees can explore a wide variety of reptiles available for purchase, including snakes, lizards, turtles and more.
—Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 31 Mar. 2026
The suitcase’s contents ranged from meeting notes and a list of ways to antagonize targets (from the use of lizards and snakes to slingshots) to membership lists and charters.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 30 Mar. 2026
Rattlesnakes typically start showing in greater numbers later in April, but extreme heat in recent weeks has brought the snakes out earlier than usual.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
Unlike venomous snakes or extreme cold, there was no safety briefing that could have prepared her for an animal lunging out of nowhere on the course.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
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
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
Noun
Deer, snakes, and birds flee past you, even the insects attempt to escape.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Unlike regular drain snakes that require manual control, the DrainShroom disposable drain snakes are designed to attach to any power drill to create a highly effective hair clog grabbing tool.
—Tory Johnson, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, successful female contestants like two-time champion Parvati Shallow have been framed as snakes and black widows.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2026
About 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes annually, and — despite the two recent deaths in Southern California — only around five of the people who are bitten typically die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Attendees can explore a wide variety of reptiles available for purchase, including snakes, lizards, turtles and more.
—Tiffany Acosta, AZCentral.com, 31 Mar. 2026
The suitcase’s contents ranged from meeting notes and a list of ways to antagonize targets (from the use of lizards and snakes to slingshots) to membership lists and charters.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 30 Mar. 2026
Rattlesnakes typically start showing in greater numbers later in April, but extreme heat in recent weeks has brought the snakes out earlier than usual.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
Unlike venomous snakes or extreme cold, there was no safety briefing that could have prepared her for an animal lunging out of nowhere on the course.
—Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snakes
Noun
-
The Southland has also seen more rattlesnakes, with two recent human fatalities, as the early heat draws more serpents onto hiking trails.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Mar. 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
-
Those who use the path with their dogs are encouraged to contact a veterinarian if a foxtail barb is found.—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
-
Given their disparate geographical locations, this suggested that dogs were already widespread across western Eurasia between 18,500 and 14,000 years ago, according to the study.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Having been labeled traitors in Iran and following reports that some of their families had been threatened, the players then sang before their other two matches.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Perhaps now, the couple will question everything while also trying to protect their children from the evil that lurks.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026
-
What’s playing on that magical cranial monitor, however, is one half of the shadow self that lurks behind all of Yes‘ provocations.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The bottom line Concentration risk often creeps into your portfolio over time.—
Doug Ashburn,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
But as Mecklenburg County’s sprawl creeps its way into Union County, leaders are looking for ways to preserve the area’s rural feel the farmland that supports it.—
Briah Lumpkins,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
Verb
-
Ortiz sneaks field recordings and samples into these songs, too—each adding texture to the universe of her songs and evoking the wider world that exists just outside the frame of her narration.—
Marissa Lorusso,
Pitchfork,
24 Mar. 2026
-
But some sunlight still sneaks through Earth’s atmosphere, bends around the planet and lands on the moon.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In the book, Grace drags Rocky back to his part of the ship, exposing himself to the Eridian environment; in the film, Rocky crawls back while Grace is unconscious.—
Matthew Razak,
Space.com,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The Shops at Yale recently announced the return of the New Haven food crawls and have added a date in December, according to a statement.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
18 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snakes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snakes. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
