1
as in twitching
to grasp and move with a small forceful motion
Hey, you tweaked my nose!
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2
as in adjusting
to make small adjustments to
You can tweak the settings to customize the display. He spent considerable time tweaking the recipe.
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3
as in mocking
to make (someone or something) the object of criticism, amusement, or laughter
They're always tweaking me about my northern accent.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tweaking
The variety in feel across NeeDoh products — from the Nice Cube to the Gumdrop to the Gummy Bear to the Snow Ball to the Dohjees — comes from the company tweaking those internal materials.
—
Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 6 May 2026
Over the next 25 years, the synth-heavy quartet grew into an institution of Canadian rock by steadily tweaking its sleek dance-rock sound.
—Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 4 May 2026
The team used sophisticated MESA stellar evolution models, tweaking that mysterious efficiency parameter to see what happened.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 3 May 2026
In 1977, the restaurant was split between brothers, with Serio’s father staying in Bridgeview and tweaking the name to Joe’s Italian Villa, while his aunt and uncle opened their own place, Serio’s Italian Villa, in Tinley Park.
—Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Knowing exactly where hydrogen is coming from inside cattle could help develop new ways of tamping down their methane-heavy burps, Xiong says, including by tweaking how the hydrogenobody itself works.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
With Stanton tweaking his calf on Friday and not playing on Saturday and Sunday in Houston, word of Domínguez’s call-up broke Sunday night.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2026
Traditional fixes—like tweaking the system’s parameters—don’t work because the dark modes remain fundamentally disconnected.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 26 Apr. 2026
But by tweaking this archetype again and again, Chan transforms a cheap gimmick into a complex ecosystem of life-forms.
—Dawn Chan, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 6 May 2026
Over the next 25 years, the synth-heavy quartet grew into an institution of Canadian rock by steadily tweaking its sleek dance-rock sound.
—Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 4 May 2026
The team used sophisticated MESA stellar evolution models, tweaking that mysterious efficiency parameter to see what happened.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 3 May 2026
In 1977, the restaurant was split between brothers, with Serio’s father staying in Bridgeview and tweaking the name to Joe’s Italian Villa, while his aunt and uncle opened their own place, Serio’s Italian Villa, in Tinley Park.
—Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Knowing exactly where hydrogen is coming from inside cattle could help develop new ways of tamping down their methane-heavy burps, Xiong says, including by tweaking how the hydrogenobody itself works.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2026
With Stanton tweaking his calf on Friday and not playing on Saturday and Sunday in Houston, word of Domínguez’s call-up broke Sunday night.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 27 Apr. 2026
Traditional fixes—like tweaking the system’s parameters—don’t work because the dark modes remain fundamentally disconnected.
—Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 26 Apr. 2026
But by tweaking this archetype again and again, Chan transforms a cheap gimmick into a complex ecosystem of life-forms.
—Dawn Chan, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tweaking
Verb
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Here, American fighter planes, cargo ships and Japanese freighters have spent decades transforming into thriving artificial reefs, draped in coral and surrounded by twitching clouds of tropical fish.—
Dea Jusufi,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
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Curry’s body began convulsing and twitching with increasing severity, consistent with him sustaining a traumatic brain injury from being punched in the face, documents state.—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Start the conversation, make your point clearly, and let the response shape what happens next instead of adjusting midstream.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
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In the clinical trials, most of these problems have been managed by adjusting the dose or adding supportive medications.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One side feels mocking people and calling names is OK and not creating hate.—
Ticked Off,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
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The entertainer gained notoriety on social media in the late 2010s for his sketches mocking niche everyday scenarios.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA Today,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Pain in the hand, wrist and thumb that worsens or prevents you from gripping, pinching or holding items.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
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Young plants benefit from pinching back early in the growing season to encourage branching.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
4 May 2026
Verb
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One thing that makes Vim comfortable for me is the combination of Vim-Airline and Promptline, which together provide a nice status bar that helps highlight some useful info as one is editing a file.—
Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
6 May 2026
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At the time of his death, Reed had not finished filming all his scenes as Proximo, so the crew used body doubles, special effects and editing to wrap up his character arc.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
5 May 2026
Verb
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With The Boys teasing a return for Aya Cash‘s Stormfront in the upcoming prequel series, Eric Kripke has no plans to retcon her motivations.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
10 May 2026
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Shania Twain has fans buzzing after teasing a new single on social media.—
Lori A Bashian,
FOXNews.com,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Structure information summary Most structures in this region are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
10 May 2026
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About 180,000 people experienced light to strong shaking, according to the USGS.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Verb
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Other projects focus on AI agents modifying their own behavior.—
Matthew Hutson,
IEEE Spectrum,
7 May 2026
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This year, students are working on a 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, an all-electric SUV, modifying and improving its performance as part of the multi-year challenge.—
Jamal Goss,
CBS News,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tweaking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tweaking. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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