Thesaurus results for SWISHES

swishes 1 of 2

noun

plural of swish

as in whistles

a sound similar to the speech sound \s\ stretched out the steady swish of the windshield wipers

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as in flaps

a quick jerky movement from side to side or up and down the mare brushed away the flies with a sweeping swish of her tail

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swishes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of swish

as in hisses

to make a sound like that of stretching out the speech sound \s\ with their satin costumes swishing, the little ballerinas chasséd onto the stage

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as in flicks

to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions the horse's tail swishes after every jump

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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 swishes

Noun

Banchero had the game-sealing shot, too — a 3-pointer that hit the rim, bounced a couple stories into the air, then dropped through the net with the softest of swishes with about 40 seconds left. — ABC News, 25 Apr. 2026 Now there’s a new celebrity in Greenfield, a purveyor of swishes instead of verses. — Joe Rexrode, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026 Their play is a symphony of cheers and swishes, conversation and laughter, dribbling balls and rattling rims. — Chris John Amorosino, Hartford Courant, 13 Mar. 2026 Drain out the dirty water, then refill with clean, lukewarm water and give the scarf a few more swishes. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 8 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swishes

Noun

While other animals such as rats and mice are also known to have laryngeal whistles, the study says that horses are believed to be the only animals known to combine the whistle with vocal fold vibrations to create a single, dual sound call.

— Kate Perez, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
Mrtka was actively involved between the whistles and after the whistle, using his size to clear the net and get under opponents’ skin.

— Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025

Definition of whistles

Noun

Nor are their higher-budget counterparts, such as superhero flicks and Disney’s live-action retreads of its own catalog, both of which spent much of this century eclipsing box office records.

— Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026
La Roja then lacks quality and intent, opting instead for little flicks around corners that result in turning over possession.

— Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 10 July 2026

Definition of flicks

Verb

The robot flaps five to six times a second to maintain flight.

— Ari Daniel, NPR, 9 July 2026
To clean your garbage disposal, Lane suggests starting by cleaning the rubber flaps by using dish soap and a brush or an old toothbrush to scrub the rubber flaps that line the disposal.

— Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 6 July 2026

Definition of flaps

Verb

Carried by a supreme cast including Demet Özdemir, Kaan Yildirim, İlhan Şen, and Sarp Bozkurt, the film swings between belief, hope, and dissolution.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 July 2026
When Roman LeVine, 7, eagerly swings at a water balloon, his mom Nicole LeVine pauses to take a video.

— Lynda Lin Grigsby, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Definition of swings

Noun

Moreover, if Griffin stepped into public life now, the cynical wags in finance would declare the reason obvious—his hedge fund’s returns have been sagging.

— Gary Sernovitz, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
Many critics, political pundits, and wags asked, somewhat rhetorically, whether anyone in the administration recalls how handing the responsibility of nuclear weaponry over to machines turned out in the Terminator movies.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2026

Definition of wags

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“Swishes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swishes. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of swishes

noun

verb

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