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

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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 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 Physical tics can be as subtle as eye blinking, or involve jerking the arms, or stretching the neck. — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 5 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 Here, the British actor appears to take on Hansen’s vocal patterns and tics with an eerie, off-kilter precision, as those familiar with the infamous true-crime host can attest. — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026 Some patients on chlorpromazine developed mild tremors or tics. — Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026 The movie depicts Davidson in clinical trials in 2022 at the University of Nottingham, which is developing an MNS (median nerve stimulator) that can be worn as a bracelet to reduce tics. — Barry Levitt, Time, 28 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tics

Noun

Lennox and Kember are so good at playing these meta-textual tricks.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 14 July 2026
To that point, experts in neuroscience and AI think that the difficulty of old dogs learning new tricks is significantly underappreciated.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 14 July 2026

Definition of tricks

Noun

While Minetree delivers a charming performance, capturing Elle's bubbly optimism and mannerisms, the show largely fails to add meaningful depth and truly enrich one of pop culture's most enduring heroines.

— Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Instead, Nowell roots the band’s sound in the mid-’90s and keeps his vocal mannerisms as close to Bradley’s as possible.

— Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 15 June 2026

Definition of mannerisms

Noun

Soybeans, by contrast, cover less land, and less of that acreage is irrigated, which, at this scale, matters more than the quirks of individual plants.

— Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 14 July 2026
Tenants who choose the building favor those impressive features over its quirks.

— Katie Schultz, Architectural Digest, 13 July 2026

Definition of quirks

Noun

The growth in private credit AUM has attracted capital from a broader range of investors who may not fully appreciate the distinctive risk characteristics of the asset class.

— Jason Kirsch, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Doubling Atlanta for Savannah was the primary challenge for production designer Jamie Walker McCall, who quickly realized the two cities were very different in their physical characteristics.

— Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 10 July 2026

Definition of characteristics

Noun

The list-ification of the few remaining major outlets for literary criticism troubles even its purveyors while a generation of readers has come up on Goodreads and learned the worst habits of critical thinking (or the lack thereof) from it.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
Tenet is a collection of Nolan’s most frustrating habits cranked to 11 — from an oppressive soundscape that eclipses dialogue, to stylish yet flat characters, to a narrative that’s confusingly twisty to the point of contortion.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 16 July 2026

Definition of habits

Noun

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
The stylistic eccentricities have been dialed back, including the use of old Hollywood film clips to reflect the action and possibly the thoughts of its main character, a cinephile from space, who is both practicing and enacting the work of a private detective.

— Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026

Definition of eccentricities

Noun

The humor—dry, humane, occasionally absurd—is ever-present … The Vermont setting, spare and bracing, acts as a quiet amplifier of these idiosyncrasies, while Mason remains attuned to the natural world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Norton, for instance, drew many of Hawk’s idiosyncrasies from his friends.

— Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 7 July 2026