variants
or spiralling
as in spiral
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Dissimilar Words
variants
or spiralling
as in winding
to follow a circular or spiral course
a narrow road spiraling up the mountain to the summit
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of spiraling
Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Still annoyed, weirdly offended, and slightly spiraling.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 6 Apr. 2026
Violent confrontations targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota are being driven by outside actors exploiting chaos, not organic protest, according to a protest insider warning that the situation is rapidly spiraling.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Demonstrations broke out over the near-collapse of the rial and spiraling economic conditions but grew to become a larger movement against the regime.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
In our seminar, Bolin later showed a visualization of 3I/ATLAS's orbit around the galaxy — no neat ellipse, but rather a looping, spiraling path distorted by encounters with gas clouds, spiral arms and dark matter.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 2 Dec. 2025
Ryan Grant, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Investigations, reviews and outside probes In the midst of the overpayment debate, the unemployment insurance division devolved into a series of investigations, reviews of those investigations and spiraling distrust between staff and superiors, labor department documents obtained by The Post show.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
Just 17 months later, with inflation spiraling out of control, Carter kicked Miller upstairs to be Secretary of the Treasury.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 31 May 2026
Since at least 1998’s Music Has the Right to Children, brothers Marcus Eoin and Michael Sandison have notoriously laced their music with esoteric details that send devoted fans spiraling down rabbit holes, and perhaps no symbol holds a more privileged position in their lore than the hexagon.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 29 May 2026
Recently, Bailey has collaborated with hair architect Fesa Nu, parading a myriad of sculptural styles like spiraling braid extensions and spiky buns.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 28 May 2026
The tower can identify hail, rain drops, a cloud of cicadas, the spiraling debris in tornadic winds from more than one hundred miles away.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Our hook is Agnes, the clever, spiraling protagonist who spends a day in 2014 Manhattan trying to, um, get killed.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
Salah’s outburst, which came after being named as a substitute for the third consecutive game over a six-day period in December, sent a season already spiralling into complete chaos.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 25 May 2026
Adjective
The basic idea is that when anxiety spikes, pulling out a few sensory-engaging items can stave off panic by interrupting spiraling thoughts.
—Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Still annoyed, weirdly offended, and slightly spiraling.
—Jenna Ryu, SELF, 6 Apr. 2026
Violent confrontations targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota are being driven by outside actors exploiting chaos, not organic protest, according to a protest insider warning that the situation is rapidly spiraling.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Demonstrations broke out over the near-collapse of the rial and spiraling economic conditions but grew to become a larger movement against the regime.
—Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
In our seminar, Bolin later showed a visualization of 3I/ATLAS's orbit around the galaxy — no neat ellipse, but rather a looping, spiraling path distorted by encounters with gas clouds, spiral arms and dark matter.
—Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 2 Dec. 2025
Verb
Should an incident occur, it can be detected more quickly, causing minimal disruption and keeping the incident from spiraling into a crisis.
—Ryan Grant, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Investigations, reviews and outside probes In the midst of the overpayment debate, the unemployment insurance division devolved into a series of investigations, reviews of those investigations and spiraling distrust between staff and superiors, labor department documents obtained by The Post show.
—Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 31 May 2026
Just 17 months later, with inflation spiraling out of control, Carter kicked Miller upstairs to be Secretary of the Treasury.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 31 May 2026
Since at least 1998’s Music Has the Right to Children, brothers Marcus Eoin and Michael Sandison have notoriously laced their music with esoteric details that send devoted fans spiraling down rabbit holes, and perhaps no symbol holds a more privileged position in their lore than the hexagon.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 29 May 2026
Recently, Bailey has collaborated with hair architect Fesa Nu, parading a myriad of sculptural styles like spiraling braid extensions and spiky buns.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 28 May 2026
The tower can identify hail, rain drops, a cloud of cicadas, the spiraling debris in tornadic winds from more than one hundred miles away.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Our hook is Agnes, the clever, spiraling protagonist who spends a day in 2014 Manhattan trying to, um, get killed.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 26 May 2026
Salah’s outburst, which came after being named as a substitute for the third consecutive game over a six-day period in December, sent a season already spiralling into complete chaos.
—Andy Jones, New York Times, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiraling
Adjective
-
Yet, the most terrifying part of this entirely predictable spiral?—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
-
Gray perfectly ramps up the dread, and both Irwin and Gary’s senses of guilt and anger, as things spiral out of control for both brothers and ultimately the whole family, including Hester, who’s dealing with her own secrets.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Fast forward to the second half of the 20th century, when Capri enjoyed another boom during the golden age of la dolce vita, when Italian and international celebrities flocked to the island's winding streets.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
Travel + Leisure,
30 May 2026
-
The paths Jackson and Lackey have taken have been winding and intertwined.—
Teddy Cahill,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
When the singer-songwriter Mo Sabri was growing up in East Tennessee, his Pakistani immigrant parents loved playing the swirling, rhythmic sounds of qawwali, Sufi Muslim devotional music.—
Malaka Gharib,
NPR,
23 May 2026
-
The short, rounded length still leaves plenty of room for a bright French tip and swirling flowers.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
As a performer, Tetzloff uses a natural physicality, at times leaning back from the piano as if to take a good look at his hands on the keys, and at other times coiling forward in rapt concentration.—
Sheila Regan,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Look to Hermès for a fresh take on jewelry styling by coiling a silk scarf around a pendant and pairing with a simple button-up and trousers.—
Andrea Zendejas,
Vogue,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Veteran midfielder LaBonta scored in the 40th minute and reigning National Women’s Soccer League MVP Chawinga netted her sixth goal of the season in the 62nd, curling the ball around the Thorns’ goalkeeper.—
Jeff Rosen,
Kansas City Star,
24 May 2026
-
Another indicator of ripeness is the tendril (the curling bit of vine), which will turn dry and brown when the melon is ready to harvest.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
23 May 2026
Verb
-
On the other side of the 15th floor is the large indoor pool that sits beneath a curving glass ceiling that brings in ample sunlight.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Akira Back is located inside The Henderson, the curving tower in Central Hong Kong designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.—
Jim Dobson,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
The main performance is scheduled to include aerial acrobatics, bondage, burlesque and drag performers from groups such as The Dragonettes, AKArts Collective and others with hypnotic live looping and vocal music from Morgan Sorne.—
Anne Schrager,
San Francisco Chronicle,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Tight baseline battles, pressure from Shelton and counterattacks from Ruud, using the violent topspin of those big looping forehands.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiraling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiraling. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
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