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 Unlike Tourette’s patients — whose initial tics are often very simple, such as blinking — some of these young people made complex movements. — Nebyou Belay, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026 Some people with Tourette’s can temporarily control tics, such as during a public interview, but that does not mean tics are voluntary. — Michael Okun, The Conversation, 9 Sep. 2026 Somehow, Stan does, inhabiting the physicality and voice completely, turning up the volume on the Trumpian tics as the character ages. — Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026 People experiencing psychosis, dissociation, tics, and other problems after meditating were asking for help. — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tics

Noun

Homemade enchiladas might sound like a laborious weekend project, but with a few clever tricks, this version made with black beans and pumpkin can be whipped up on even the most hurried of work nights.

— Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2026
Chinese robotics startup LinkerBot has demonstrated the dexterity of its new robotic hand by teaching it to perform magic tricks.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of tricks

Noun

Growing older, Christian inherited his father’s mannerisms and infectious energy and often wears a glittering Bad Boy chain around his neck, firmly tying himself to his father’s shadow.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
Others noticed how similar Ella’s voice and mannerisms are to Bening’s.

— Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of mannerisms

Noun

The team’s brightest moment comes when Olivia realizes that Daisy has incorporated her unique personality traits, like praying repetitiously and loving the musical Annie.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Publishers sold albums of facsimile autographs, and the interest developed into the field of graphology, the practice of analyzing a person’s handwriting to purportedly discern personality traits.

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of traits

Noun

Due to legal quirks, the countywide highway district — the only one of its kind in Idaho — can only ask voters to approve it during an even-year general election.

— Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 6 Oct. 2026
The developer said the system even encountered locations where collision information appeared to be incomplete and was able to exploit those map quirks.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of quirks

Noun

Fully agentic shopping remains a longer-term prospect, and each company has characteristics that could help insulate its business as the technology develops.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
But these trace elements can have an outsize effect on overall stellar characteristics.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of characteristics

Noun

Cranor said a person’s risk depends on how often they are targeted, their security habits, their ability to recognize suspicious messages, and whether the lure really interests them.

— Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026
Changing spending habits Other Democratic megadonors are simply cutting out the middleman, picking individual races and candidates to support.

— Luke Fountain, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of habits

Noun

Voorhees’ 19th century eccentricities stretched to the installation of beehives in the attic, but the space is now a cozy two-bedroom layout, with a living room and improved versions of the original porthole windows.

— Richard Lane, Des Moines Register, 21 Sep. 2026
Its moribund eccentricities cannot be separated from the tenderness of its story because Rhys and co-writer and composer, Joss Holden-Rea, have taken the time to sculpt characters with interiority that feels invitational.

— Zachary Lee, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of eccentricities

Noun

With exceptional performances from the entire cast and homages to musical legends like Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson, Bioh and White present a reflection of the Black female experience in all of its dazzling idiosyncrasies, triumphs and pains.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
Two new books argue that this is the wrong debate to be having, since swing voters, with all their idiosyncrasies, don’t see politics through a lens of moderates versus progressives.

— Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026