1
as in hissing
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in flapping
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the horse's tail swishes after every jump
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swishing
Verb
-
Initially Mila can be seen hissing at Fifi, just for being near her.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025 -
In 2021, scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore turned Madagascar hissing cockroaches into cyborgs, implanting electrodes in sensory organs known as cerci that were then connected to tiny computers.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Birds can soar through the sky for long periods without flapping their wings.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Well, the 23-year-old Belgian was among Europe’s best shot-stopping goalkeepers last season, is quick off his line and appears to be pretty composed, which would be ideal around his two flapping new goalkeeper team mates.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
While you guys had staff inside laughing, pointing and even flicking off the crowd outside.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Koberidze opens with a montage of cats, foot traffic, street dogs twitching in their sleep, statues and trees casting long shadows across buildings.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
17 Aug. 2025
-
Prater, who was expecting gory details, is a little harder to read, though his face twitching doesn’t seem like a great sign.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Before switching course to run for secretary of state, this was Hollier’s third time filing to run for Michigan’s 13th District seat.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The climate gains from switching to 100 percent renewable electricity and installing heat exchangers at the roof are huge.—
Mattias Goldmann,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Dramatic video shows the moment nearly 70 shipping containers fell off a cargo ship Tuesday and were left bobbing in the ocean at the Port of Long Beach in California.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The concert film captures Mitski alongside a seven-piece band, bobbing in and out of a beaming spotlight and dark shadows.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
8 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Swishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swishing. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share