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 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

Standard Tactics Lose Their Edge Here The biggest surprise was that the tricks our agency uses for clients didn’t work here!

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
The voices and visions play tricks and offer surprises, and there’s a sense of humour even when tragedy is lurking in the wings.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of tricks

Noun

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
In a new video, the 13-year-old royal drew an uncanny likeness to his grandmother—down to her mannerisms.

— Christina Perrier, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of mannerisms

Noun

But this was his first opportunity to play against a live pass rush, which tested one of the traits that drew Los Angeles to Simpson.

— Nate Atkins, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
In theory, Daniels could sue LSU for misappropriation of his right of publicity, which forbids the unauthorized commercial use of a college athlete’s name, image, likeness, signature, voice, nickname and other identifying traits.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of traits

Noun

Cristin Milioti was in her sweet spot as lovable mess Hazel, who left college a decade ago to marry tech titan Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), a control-freak inventor whose toxic quirks evoke many real-world counterparts.

— Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Roberts was known for his meticulous preparation, which included visiting out-of-town courtrooms to gather intel on judges’ quirks and preferences.

— Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of quirks

Noun

Jack Reacher, protagonist of books by Lee Child and an ongoing Amazon drama, has several characteristics integral to his Jack Reacher-ness.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2026
Hydrogen tackles flight phases Unlike conventional jet fuel, hydrogen has different combustion and storage characteristics, requiring changes to the systems that deliver and burn it.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of characteristics

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