as in breeze
a slight or gentle movement of air
wafts carrying the scent of spring flowers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to hover
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
a feather wafted past us and settled on the grass
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of waft
Evan Bush, NBC news, 7 Mar. 2026
The Source also obtained a copy of a snarky complaint one of its guests lodged with state investigators after watching dust plumes waft from Mountain Cement to his room.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026
Lizzie Johnson, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
And the unmistakable scent of patchouli oil won’t waft through the air.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for waft
Noun
Losing the Great Salt Lake would therefore have dire economic consequences for the region, in addition to health threats as dust laden with heavy metals wafts off the lake bed and into neighborhoods.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 7 Mar. 2026
The Source also obtained a copy of a snarky complaint one of its guests lodged with state investigators after watching dust plumes waft from Mountain Cement to his room.
—Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2026
Verb
But a radioactive cloud was wafting across Europe, setting off alarms in a Swedish laboratory nearly seven hundred miles away and slowly sickening tens of thousands of people.
—Lizzie Johnson, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
And the unmistakable scent of patchouli oil won’t waft through the air.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for waft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waft
Noun
-
Over the next few days, ocean breezes will die down and the beaches will heat up.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2026
-
The rain should begin to taper off sometime midday Monday or Monday afternoon followed by clearing skies and a cooler breeze Monday evening into Tuesday.—
Cutter Martin,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
So every draft really did hover around that range of 90 and 100 pages.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
-
In the 1960s, when Mellencamp was coming of age, Jackson County, which includes his hometown Seymour, hovered around thirty-one thousand residents, with about 1 percent of that population composed of Black families.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This flirty option sports a plunging V-neck framed by puff sleeves, plus an oversized self-tie bow that adjusts the waist.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
4 May 2026
-
The puff-sleeve gown featured a whopping 2,000 pearl embellishments, which were worked into the pastel floral detailing around the bodice and bottom of the dress.—
Sophie Dodd,
PEOPLE,
4 May 2026
Verb
-
When the Jules Verne Trophy was established in 1990, the target time for sailing non-stop around the world was 80 days, echoing the adventures of Phileas Fogg in Verne’s novel Around the World in 80 Days.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
-
The events of the Clearances catalyze the action in this novel, which begins with John, a Presbyterian minister, having accepted a commission to sail to a remote island and evict its last tenant.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
Take a breath before responding.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
7 May 2026
-
Studios never take a breath these days, especially in an uncertain and highly competitive streaming environment.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Giuliani floated the idea of changing the law to run for a third term or serving an extra three months to help with a post-9/11 recovery.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
-
Living spaces are regularly stocked with detox snacks, and surprise gifts—such as paper lanterns to float across the pool—wait for guests each night on the bed.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 May 2026
Verb
-
The staircase to the second floor had a stair lift, and into my head drifted an image of an elderly widow, slowly ascending to her bedroom after eating alone, her kitchen overflowing with porcelain and crystal reminders of dinner parties long ago.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
-
Instead of splashing down or drifting under parachutes, the vehicle uses a lifting-body design (without wings) and will land under a steerable parafoil for a runway-style touchdown — a flight system unlike any that has matured to operability on a spacecraft to date.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
April’s list includes tracking Roman ship repairs, the discovery that mushrooms can detect human urine, crushing soda cans for science, and the physics of why dolphins can swim so fast.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
2 May 2026
-
The rescuers were going to inflate airbags underneath the animal, but then the water level rose, and one morning the whale began to swim.—
Jessica Camille Aguirre,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Waft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waft. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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