as in to curl
to follow a circular or spiral course
a narrow road spiraling up the mountain to the summit
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in winding
turning around an axis like the thread of a screw
a spiral staircase takes visitors up into the Statue of Liberty
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiral
Neil McRobert, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Doyle, who’s also the team’s punter, scrambled out to the right before lobbing a spiral over some New Mexico defenders, including two right in his face, to find Grizzle.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2025
Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
One woman’s attempt to balance her own celebration while supporting her sister’s engagement has spiraled into a year-long feud.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025
In Hubble's recent image, NGC 6951 unfurls its graceful spiral arms, covered in red nebulae glowing with hydrogen gas, a key fuel for new stars.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiral
Verb
Communities are ripped apart, families are trapped in a downward doom spiral, and a certain encounter between an infected mother and her son proves that nothing left is sacred.
—Neil McRobert, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
Doyle, who’s also the team’s punter, scrambled out to the right before lobbing a spiral over some New Mexico defenders, including two right in his face, to find Grizzle.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), while attempting to make a full turn, James appeared to lose control of the aircraft and the plane spiraled out of the air not far from the airport runway.
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
One woman’s attempt to balance her own celebration while supporting her sister’s engagement has spiraled into a year-long feud.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
While fans may no longer watch those familiar white discs spiral across the field, the memories remain—etched in photos, in inside jokes, and in the hearts of those who once stood shoulder to shoulder, laughing as flour dust filled the West Texas air.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025
In Hubble's recent image, NGC 6951 unfurls its graceful spiral arms, covered in red nebulae glowing with hydrogen gas, a key fuel for new stars.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiral
Verb
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Dry hair doesn’t curl as easily as damp hair, while hair that’s soaking wet requires too much time to dry in the rollers.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
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Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass wrote, directed and starred in this blood-curling 2014 film that follows a videographer who takes on a job for an eccentric client.—
Emy LaCroix,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Experts say that these legal challenges are just the beginning of what will surely be a long and winding road through the U.S. court system.—
Kat Lonsdorf,
NPR,
23 Oct. 2025
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Thake took a long and winding trip down the memories of South Yorkshire football, a path which eventually led him to the living room of a shy, almost reclusive Rotherham man called Terry Moran.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The first few days was like a learning curve, for sure.—
Patrick Gomez,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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And even if a few curve balls come in, that doesn’t necessarily overwhelm me.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Enormous ventilation pipes were coiled like snakes on the roof of the building.—
Ingfei Chen,
New Yorker,
22 Oct. 2025
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Anyway, because of the *slightly* complex situation with the aneurysm (nothing bad, just not typical), it wasn’t coiled that weekend.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The discovery offers a powerful way to give waste plastics a second life as high-performance materials, advancing both a circular economy and next-generation clean technologies.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
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Ground zero for two family weddings and several SAG-AFTRA events during the Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress’s ownership, the light gray and white-trimmed structure is tucked away behind 20-foot privacy hedges and double gates and fronted by a semi-circular driveway.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Its eponymous flowers are deep red-orange and the foliage is composed of whorls of needle-like, silvery-blue leaves.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
7 June 2025
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In 2024, the Ig Nobel Prize in anatomy went to an international team of scientists for their discovery that scalp hair whorls are more likely to spiral in a counter-clockwise direction in the Southern Hemisphere compared with the Northern Hemisphere.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 June 2025
Verb
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The highways stretch out flat, winding around small cattle farms and churches.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
31 Oct. 2025
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How to Watch North Carolina at Syracuse Bill Belichick’s first season as North Carolina head coach is winding to a whimpering close, but an ACC win over Syracuse under the Friday Night Lights would sure turn some frowns upside down at Chapel Hill.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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At night, the helical patterns look adorned with ribbons of LED lighting, transforming the bridge into a shimmering sculpture that reflects in the waters below.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
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Any irregularity or jagged appearance in the helical area typically reflects changes in the shape or integrity of the cartilage beneath.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiral. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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