as in infant
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as in nursing
to give milk to from the breast
the image of a mother suckling her babe is a standard artistic symbol of maternal love and nurturing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suckling
Aisha Muharrar, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 Oct. 2025
Their texture and design mimics a nipple, so babies respond well to the familiar suckling apparatus.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 24 Nov. 2025
Those people under him are suckling on his piggly-wiggly titties.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suckling
Noun
The quiet, rhythmic suckling that babies do when feeding.
—Aisha Muharrar, Bon Appetit Magazine, 2 Oct. 2025
Their texture and design mimics a nipple, so babies respond well to the familiar suckling apparatus.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
Verb
The pups have the epicurean delight of suckling one of the highest fat-content milks in the animal kingdom.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 24 Nov. 2025
Those people under him are suckling on his piggly-wiggly titties.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suckling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckling
Noun
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Last year, Connecticut doctors diagnosed a 6-year-old with SSPE, and in California, a school-age child who'd had measles as an infant died of it.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Monitoring for symptoms is especially critical for people who have not been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, particularly infants under one year of age who are not routinely recommended for the vaccine.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Denver was nursing a 93-86 lead into the fourth when Doncic banked a circus 3-pointer while falling into the stands.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 2026
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Holmgren tied a career high with six 3-pointers and Lu Dort added 16 points for the Thunder, who recovered after the Knicks took the lead with a 40-point third quarter, going back ahead early in the fourth and nursing a small advantage the rest of the way.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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About 37% of parents reported reading to their newborns in 2022, down from 43% in 2018.—
Kayla Huynh,
jsonline.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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The National Sleep Foundation recommends 14 to 17 hours for newborns, 12 to 15 for infants, 11 to 14 for toddlers, 10 to 13 for preschoolers and 9 to 11 for school-age children.—
Lily Hautau,
CNN Money,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
When Heathcliff, a foundling, discovers that Cathy Earnshaw, the daughter of the impoverished Yorkshire lord who’s taken him in, has played a prank on him by putting eggs in his beds to be crushed, the boy plunges his fingers into the slippery puddle of yolk and albumen left behind.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
9 Feb. 2026
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Cathy might be as uninhibited as Heathcliff when roaming the outdoors, but a woman of her status can’t be allowed to marry a foundling, especially one who now works for her family as a servant.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Number two, what a little time and compassion can do for neonates and orphans.—
Jen Reeder,
Forbes.com,
15 Jan. 2026
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Among these studies, 12 post-approval studies included 3,646 neonates, newborns, infants and children.—
Dr. Jade Cobern,
ABC News,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There is a photo, too, of the doll itself, a nude little cherub packaged in a box designed to look like both a manger and an illuminated Bible.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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As a matter of fact, cherub tomatoes (a type of grape tomato) are the #1 snacking tomato in the entire country, says Duesenberg.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Suckling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckling. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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