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
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 22 Sep. 2025
For me, noir is the horror fiction of the crime genre, in which the main characters constantly make things worse for themselves in a claustrophobic, ever-tightening spiral of doom.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
Saw a post where MLF referred to problems in the locker room, and if things don’t change, things could spiral and the season could be lost.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Daryl Austin, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
As family secrets surface and painful truths emerge, the pair spiral toward a devastating reckoning with the darkness lurking within us all.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiral
Verb
Tipping takes the notion of a spiral in football and runs with it, creating some of the film’s most hallucinatory effects in the process.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 22 Sep. 2025
For me, noir is the horror fiction of the crime genre, in which the main characters constantly make things worse for themselves in a claustrophobic, ever-tightening spiral of doom.
—Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
The Cleveland Browns’ list of starting quarterbacks since 1999 grows to 41, bye weeks begin, the Baltimore Ravens are spiraling, Josh Allen eyes history, and the Dallas Cowboys face a must-win.
—Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
Saw a post where MLF referred to problems in the locker room, and if things don’t change, things could spiral and the season could be lost.
—Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
But when sepsis develops, the body's defensive measures spiral out of control, triggering widespread inflammation, abnormal blood clotting and leaky blood vessels.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
As family secrets surface and painful truths emerge, the pair spiral toward a devastating reckoning with the darkness lurking within us all.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiral
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiral
Verb
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Once all of the hair is curled, Ngatikaura added texture spray to the entire head, using her fingers to pick the hair up and apply the product throughout.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
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He was denied a goal in the second half with a curling effort from an acute angle that was cleared off the line.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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The Didi and Gogo that Sparks and Shannon created were full of blood and bile, real people with — no matter how obscured in its details by time and circumstance — a long and winding relationship.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The interior design by Francesco Paszkowski in collaboration with Margherita Casprini incorporates furniture with strong curves, rugs with shapes that define the spaces in a non-traditional manner.—
Michael Verdon,
Robb Report,
3 Oct. 2025
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The mom of three included several coats for heading into the colder months, as well as bodycon dresses so curves can truly be celebrated.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Photos from the organization show the python safely coiled on a white towel after it had been brought in.—
Jillian Frankel,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
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Dense dust lanes can be seen coiling around Andromeda's glowing galactic center, which is thought to house a supermassive black hole 140 million times more massive than our sun.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency told AP that rescue teams were using heavy excavators equipped with jackhammers and circular saws, as well as their bare hands on occasion, to find the 14 students still missing.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
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On the third floor, a vaulted ceiling uncovered an original circular window, and another was found in the library.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
6 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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While the roads are well-maintained, the winding mountain sections require attentive driving, especially when leaf-peeping traffic increases.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Oct. 2025
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From here, enjoy a leisurely drive along iconic Skyline Drive, which winds 101 miles along the park’s ridgeline.—
Erin Gifford,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Closer to the galaxy's core, the jet takes on a helical form.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
2 Oct. 2025
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Power is sent through a 6-speed short-throw manual transmission to the front wheels through a helical limited-slip differential.—
Michael Harley,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiral.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiral. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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