1
as in gorging
to eat greedily or to excess
they can spend hours at the pub, drinking, chatting, and swilling
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sipping
to swallow in liquid form
they gathered in the break room each morning to swill coffee together before the morning meeting
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swilling
There’s the youngest, most freewheeling son’s habit of swilling cold coffee while watching The Gong Show.
—
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Spirit swilling was down 5% in California, compared with a 4% drop nationwide.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
Cate Blanchett, ‘Blue Jasmine’ (2014) Blanchett delivers an enjoyably tragicomic turn in Woody Allen's dramedy as a booze-swilling, Xanax-popping hot mess.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
People who would never be caught dead swilling neon fizz from a camouflage can were suddenly consuming a drink that was materially the same, but was being sold by exploiting a different set of unattainable aspirations, using a different vocabulary.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
Vicky Dawson is loopy and judgmental as Becca’s wine-swilling mom Nat.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Editors and influencers piled into the train-carriage narrow Ojii restaurant on the Left Bank, swilling lychee martinis and Champagne before settling in for rounds of wagyu beef, tuna tartare, tempura and — of course — sushi.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 18 Nov. 2025
Fighting off hordes of alien monstrosities AND digging for rare minerals in outer space as a crew of beer-swilling, ass kicking space dwarves?
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Spirit swilling was down 5% in California, compared with a 4% drop nationwide.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
Cate Blanchett, ‘Blue Jasmine’ (2014) Blanchett delivers an enjoyably tragicomic turn in Woody Allen's dramedy as a booze-swilling, Xanax-popping hot mess.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026
People who would never be caught dead swilling neon fizz from a camouflage can were suddenly consuming a drink that was materially the same, but was being sold by exploiting a different set of unattainable aspirations, using a different vocabulary.
—Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026
Vicky Dawson is loopy and judgmental as Becca’s wine-swilling mom Nat.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Feb. 2026
Editors and influencers piled into the train-carriage narrow Ojii restaurant on the Left Bank, swilling lychee martinis and Champagne before settling in for rounds of wagyu beef, tuna tartare, tempura and — of course — sushi.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 18 Nov. 2025
Fighting off hordes of alien monstrosities AND digging for rare minerals in outer space as a crew of beer-swilling, ass kicking space dwarves?
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swilling
Verb
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And all those who find the Dodgers’ gorging offensive also tend to overlook that their spending provides real benefits as well.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Of all the schemes that humans have devised to keep sea lions from gorging on the salmon of the Columbia River basin, none has worked for long.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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After sipping on drink after drink, our testers selected seven sips that bubbled up above the rest.—
Sonal Dutt,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
-
The Princess of Wales has been seen sipping bubbly on the sidelines of Prince William’s polo matches.—
Mathilde Engelmann,
Vanity Fair,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Before the group came out, a group of extras mimed drinking tea and feasting on pastries, with pinky fingers aloft — per the song’s innate spoofing of the etiquette stereotypically associated with tea drinking.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
26 May 2026
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Having Fox on the court would help mitigate some of this, but OKC is feasting on any little miscue.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
Verb
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Danny is, once again, drinking and trying to hide it.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 June 2026
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In the 1990s, the soft drink company ran a promotion and a Super Bowl commercial that featured the Harrier as a prize for accumulating 7 million points by drinking Pepsi products.—
Brad Lendon,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
Verb
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This viral anti-slip slow feeder lick bowl helps prevent gulping and bloating, while keeping your dogs entertained for longer with a healthy, fun challenge.—
Kasey Caminiti,
USA Today,
25 May 2026
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Yes, gulping the liquid the night before was an ordeal — try drinking three liters of anything in three hours, going to sleep, then waking up six hours later for one final liter.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swilling. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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