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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in infant
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of suckling
A.a. Dowd, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2025
Prices: Dinner appetizers $18 to $32, main courses $28 to $78, large-format dishes $170 to $600 (for whole suckling pig).
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
Benjamin Kemper, Saveur, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suckling
Verb
All that gnashing and suckling is old hat — as old as the burgundy fedora Jordan slips on when playing the more jovial of these brothers in arms.
—A.a. Dowd, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2025
Prices: Dinner appetizers $18 to $32, main courses $28 to $78, large-format dishes $170 to $600 (for whole suckling pig).
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
Noun
The best rooms look out over the sea and the rugged peaks of Cavall Bernat—a view shared by the rooftop restaurant, where local meats star in dishes like suckling porc negre and pastry stuffed with guinea fowl in almond sauce.
—Benjamin Kemper, Saveur, 13 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for suckling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suckling
Verb
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Teams played best-of-three series in the NCAA tournament back then, and Sullivan was nursing a bad ankle that sidelined him for the first game, a BU loss.—
Peter Baugh,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Before the end of the third quarter, Jackson was out of the game, nursing a hamstring according to the broadcast, and Cooper Rush, the former Dallas Cowboys’ backup, finished the game.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Funding for a key food aid program relied on by millions of mothers and infants will likely run out of money in the coming days.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
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Once they were cast, the twins gave the crew a crash course on working with infants.—
Angela Andaloro,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Although this is the first time elevations of the Alzheimer’s disease marker pTau217 have been observed in newborns, extensive phosphorylation of tau has previously been reported in the developing brain.—
Robert Martone,
Scientific American,
10 Oct. 2025
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Those most at risk include newborns, who are too young to be vaccinated and among the most medically fragile.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There were grim meetings with every male foundling who landed on the streets or showed up at city hospitals.—
Mara Bovsun,
New York Daily News,
3 May 2025
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But Mufasa's welcome is no kinder than the reception Dickens doled out to the foundlings scattered throughout his novels.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
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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
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The scientists also found several neonates and newborns in the area, Pardo-Pérez tells Flora Lichtman of Science Friday, which suggests that the site served as a nursery for the prehistoric animals.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 July 2025
Noun
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Out went the restrained décor of previous administrations; in came gilt cherubs, Rococo mirrors, and medallions gleaming with theatrical flair.—
Lilah Ramzi,
Vogue,
3 Aug. 2025
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Trump has also made significant decorative changes to the Oval Office, incorporating gold accents, cherubs and other ornate touches, and has installed large flagpoles to display American flags on both the north and south lawns.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suckling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suckling. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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