waft 1 of 2

noun

Definition of waftnext
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

waft

2 of 2

verb

ˈwäft How to pronounce waft (audio)
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

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 waft
Noun
The scents of honey, lavender, patchouli and cedarwood waft through The Hive by Upcycled Candles, as soft alternative rock fills the air. — Sarah Kyrcz, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026 Banana pudding wafts with the green vanilla notes of pandan. — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 24 Mar. 2026
Verb
No smoke wafting through the parking lots, which included multiple empty sections. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026 Summer is here, your windows are open and the smell wafting in is of…car exhaust and the latest wildfire. — Emily Kwong, NPR, 16 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for waft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waft
  1. breeze
  2. hover
  3. puff
  4. sail
  5. breath
  6. float
  7. drift
  8. swim
Noun
  • Moving every two hours was a breeze to stick to, but the returns were less impressive.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 14 July 2026
  • The company's MaonoLink software unlocks additional features to make recording a breeze.
    — Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 14 July 2026
Definition of breeze
Verb
  • The share of younger adults living with parents hovered well below 30% in the early years of the new millennium.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • If the filmmakers present Zidane as an Everyman equivalent to James Joyce’s Leopold Bloom or Camus’ protagonist Meursault, their approach is fertile because the same questions that hover around Meursault also surround Zizou.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026
Definition of hover
Noun
  • Kate’s puff-sleeve shirt dress feels a touch more sophisticated than a traditional button-down silhouette, and this Amazon lookalike captures the same refined feel.
    — Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
  • Follow directions on your inhaler for how many puffs to take.
    — Alexandra Frost, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of puff
Verb
  • From time to time, Li Shan would offer Noe a sum impressive to a fisherman to sail his lugger—a forty-foot vessel made for the shallower waters of home into the Gulf to meet a ship bound for New Orleans.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026
  • Twice England’s post was struck but when Enzo Fernández’s sublime strike sailed past Jordan Pickford in the 85th minute, there only ever felt like one winner.
    — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
Definition of sail
Noun
  • Three of those goals were scored past Iraizoz, the former Athletic Club goalkeeper, including a solo effort in a 2-2 draw at San Mames that still takes your breath away, 13 years later.
    — Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 10 July 2026
  • Companies are posting record profits and shrinking their management layers in the same breath.
    — Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of breath
Verb
  • For something slower-paced, float the Penticton channel that connects Okanagan and Skaha lakes on tube rafts.
    — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2026
  • Others float slowly just below geostationary orbit, listening to the signals emanating from communications and early warning satellites stationed there.
    — Gerry Doyle, Fortune, 13 July 2026
Definition of float
Verb
  • Microsoft tied itself tightly to OpenAI through a series of investments, but the two companies drifted and became competing with each other after the abrupt 2023 ousting and reinstatement of OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, with little notice to Nadella.
    — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 16 July 2026
  • On warm Carolina nights in Steele Creek, string lights glow overhead and oldies drift through the speakers.
    — Tristan Graziano, Charlotte Observer, 16 July 2026
Definition of drift
Verb
  • The incident occurred when Clark and her colleagues took a break to swim in the Econlockhatchee River near the Barr Street trailhead, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
    — Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026
  • It is considered unsafe to swim in the rivers for at least 48 hours after a storm.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of swim

Browse Nearby Words

waffling
waft
wafted
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Cite this Entry

“Waft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waft. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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