TICS Synonyms: 57 Similar and Opposite Words

tics

noun

plural of tic

as in tricks

an odd or peculiar habit constantly playing with her hair is one of her more annoying tics

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

conformities

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 tics Cage plays Roy, a gifted con artist with obsessive-compulsive disorder whose tics, phobias and elaborate rituals have turned his immaculate home into a fortress against the world. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026 The first four episodes retain most of the novel’s key incidents and tics. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026 Show your unique speaking style For decades, communication coaches counseled clients to ruthlessly eliminate verbal tics and awkward pauses. — Matt Abrahams, Time, 5 Aug. 2026 Mocking each other’s writing tics became part of the fun, just as challenging each other to go darker and twistier was part of the adventure. — Scott Westerfeld, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026 After surgery, that device is programmed to send mild electrical impulses that block abnormal nerve signals and dramatically reduce tics. — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 3 July 2026 There are linguistic tics and habits that give away formerly Amish people immediately. — Eythana Miller, The Dial, 23 June 2026 Services are available that humanize AI tics. — Walt Hunter, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026 Nadal, with a wink, recites the various physical tics involved in his serving routine. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 29 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tics

Noun

Diehl calls it one of the oldest tricks in styling, the pairing of something refined against something plain.

— Pooja Mistry, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
From the outset, Schoenbrun asked the designers to look to old moviemaking tricks for inspiration to make the landscapes at the Camp Miasma set as dreamy and immersive as the director envisioned.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of tricks

Noun

Says strange things and has funny little mannerisms, but within lies a devastatingly sharp mind which can produce something special that people will be talking about for years.

— Tim Spiers, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
This portrait of wannabe bohemians and intellectuals who adopt the fashions, mannerisms, and artistic practices of an earlier time has its own essential timelessness.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of mannerisms

Noun

These are potentially key traits for Emery this season, given the number of departures this summer, including Morgan Rogers, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa.

— Aston Villa, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
While tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen may see empathy and introspection as weaknesses, those traits are the beating heart of literature and art, the wellspring of creativity and human connection.

— Billy J. Stratton, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of traits

Noun

So the goal, in many ways, is a continuation, just mixed with some new quirks.

— Noah White, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026
The film leans on the cafe’s constant churn of strangers coming and going to draw out each character’s voice, temperament and quirks at a brisk clip.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of quirks

Noun

Its license plate readers capture plate numbers along with vehicle characteristics such as make, model and color, and some Flock systems can identify distinguishing features such as bumper stickers or aftermarket modifications.

— Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
El Niño and La Niña are different phases of the same system—the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a large-scale climate pattern whose oceanic and atmospheric characteristics occur in and above the east-central Pacific Ocean.

— John P. Rafferty, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of characteristics

Noun

The results suggest that how an EV is driven may matter independently of factors such as climate and charging habits.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026
Old enemies, bad habits, a paranoid government and an unrelenting ex-cop will make retirement their most difficult mission yet.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of habits

Noun

But unlike the best of Ferrell’s earlier roles, Hawkins’s eccentricities feel like surface-level strangeness, connected to nothing surprising or soulful underneath.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 16 July 2026
And yet, generations of Americans have come here not despite its eccentricities—and downright aversion to good taste—but because of them, which serves as a reminder that originality, even at its most excessive, never really goes out of style.

— Air Mail, Air Mail, 4 July 2026

Definition of eccentricities

Noun

If LRMs can supercharge mathematics research the way AlphaFold did for computational biology, this line of thinking goes, why not embrace them, idiosyncrasies and all, and just verify the results?

— John Pavlus, Quanta Magazine, 31 July 2026
Nolan said that Odysseus’ idiosyncrasies were challenging to adapt.

— Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026