tics

plural of tic

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
  • Cirque du Soleil’s otherworldly adventure, combining high-flying tricks and underwater artistry, has been reimagined in Shared Reality.
    Mary Caldwell, AJC.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • For account takeover, though, getting rid of the six-digit code could take away one of the easiest tricks in a scammer's playbook.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Aug. 2026
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
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
Noun
  • The glasses still have some quirks to work out, but the potential here is massive.
    Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The center contributes to global research on gibbons The gibbons are full of personality and individual quirks, and Skollar knows them well after decades at the center.
    Jaimie Ding, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Directly transferring the original walking policy failed because the second robot had different body proportions, joint configurations, and motor characteristics.
    Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • According to the team, each of those characteristics plays out similarly in real fish of various sizes across different ecological niches.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • One of the newest members of the billionaire club, Scale AI cofounder Lucy Guo, is a more recent example of someone whose spending habits have remained relatively modest as her fortune has soared.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Tracks stool consistency, hydration, urinary health and bathroom habits.
    Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Recently, though, a wave of UK properties have started to embrace the kinds of cultural eccentricities that Greco saw as lacking in those hotels.
    Dipal Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026
  • 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
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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tics.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tics. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster