SWIMMING Synonyms: 32 Similar and Opposite Words

swimming

verb

Definition of swimming

present participle of swim

as in spinning

to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around his head was swimming after he was given so much information on his first day at the new job

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sailing

to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air there appeared to be an oily film swimming on the water

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of swimming It’s estimated about 25% of the sunscreen people apply to their skin washes off while swimming or wading in the ocean. — Matthew Perrone, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026 For twenty years, McCarthy has been swimming against the current, writing novels that reflect, with unusual intensity, his disdain for the conventional underpinnings of literary fiction. — Max Callimanopulos, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026 It's estimated about 25% of the sunscreen people apply to their skin washes off while swimming or wading in the ocean. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 But psychological sense be damned, Jay sets himself the task of suiting up in diving gear and swimming out in search of his dad’s remains. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026 Leo is known for living an active and healthy lifestyle, including swimming and playing tennis, all factors that likely worked in his favor going into the surgery. — CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 As for dust and water resistance, the Edge is rated IP68 and is safe for swimming up to 5ATM. — Victoria Song, The Verge, 12 Oct. 2026 The Accents Perhaps even more than the gigantic thing swimming in the ocean eating people, the thick Newfoundland accents are Below’s standout feature. — Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 Stephens is also running cross country for West Orange, and swimming with the Southwest Stars Swim Club. — Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swimming

Verb

Literature, theater and operas furthered her interest in spinning tales of her own.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026
With tweezers, the scientists gently pulled the strand of silk from the spider’s spinnerets — the abdominal spigots that fibers emerge from — and reeled it in by winding it around a vial with a spinning motor.

— Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of spinning

Verb

Charging infrastructure at ports would supply the electricity needed for operation, allowing the concept to avoid direct carbon emissions while sailing.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Oct. 2026
Chuck Zimmerman, who is described by his supporters as a Navy veteran who was intercepted by the Russian navy while sailing in international waters.

— Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of sailing

Verb

Adding to the dark mood are police helicopters hovering, with searchlights blazing, to enforce a late-night curfew in the Les Halles and République sections of Paris.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Fleetwood is 18th in the 24-team League Two, hovering just above the drop zone after winning just one of its past eight league matches.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of hovering

Verb

Russia’s offer to supply floating nuclear power plants to coastal African countries emerged as a major focus of talks held with African officials at a summit in Moscow this week.

— Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2026
But there are actual terrifying objects in space, entities operating on a scale that crush our minds and reduce our human experience to a mote of dust floating in the dark.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of floating

Verb

After a brief safety lesson on navigating the course and its cables, participants can ride a zip line into the park, gliding 60 feet above the quarry floor at speeds exceeding 30 mph.

— Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
With a pair of real horns, one of them plays the bull by gliding toward the fuchsia bullfighting cape.

— Eyder Peralta, NPR, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of gliding

Verb

That young Israelis are drifting right is in many ways a reflection of how Israeli society differs from other wealthy democracies.

— Yarden Segev, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026
And the question, increasingly, is how to engage with Chinese capability without drifting into invisible dependence.

— Ruby Wang, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of drifting

Browse Nearby Words

swim

swimming

swimmingly

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Style

“Swimming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swimming. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of swimming

verb

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