as in hovered
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
a feather wafted past us and settled on the grass
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Recent Examples of wafted
Temple crowds at midnight in Hong Kong Incense smoke wafted into the air at a temple in Hong Kong where people line up every year to make wishes for the new year at midnight.
—
Ken Moritsugu, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Several former employees described to me the sour, slightly dizzying odor that wafted from their boss as early as ten in the morning.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The heavy smell of jet fuel wafted in the air.
—Gary Fields, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
Police tape cordoned off the building; a small stream of smoke wafted from the charred roof of the facility.
—Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Hope still wafted through the 104,122 in attendance, especially after Reed drove the team downfield to brink of overtime, only to come up short on a touch pass the Hurricanes read well.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 21 Dec. 2025
The sulfurous scent of hell wafted on the sea breeze.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
The smell of rice cooking wafted through the house.
—Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
One possibility is that the water on young Venus formed steam that wafted above the magma sea covering the newborn planet’s surface.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Ken Moritsugu, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2026
Several former employees described to me the sour, slightly dizzying odor that wafted from their boss as early as ten in the morning.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
The heavy smell of jet fuel wafted in the air.
—Gary Fields, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2026
Police tape cordoned off the building; a small stream of smoke wafted from the charred roof of the facility.
—Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Hope still wafted through the 104,122 in attendance, especially after Reed drove the team downfield to brink of overtime, only to come up short on a touch pass the Hurricanes read well.
—Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 21 Dec. 2025
The sulfurous scent of hell wafted on the sea breeze.
—Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
The smell of rice cooking wafted through the house.
—Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
One possibility is that the water on young Venus formed steam that wafted above the magma sea covering the newborn planet’s surface.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wafted
Verb
-
Things like this happen in spring training, and weird stuff seems to happen when the Cubs and San Francisco Giants play any time of the year, from the Cactus League to the 1998 wild-card tiebreaker at Wrigley Field, when the giant Harry Caray balloon hovered over the bleachers.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The hovered near that 20-point lead for the entire second half.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Roughly two minutes later, Benjamin’s body floated down, too.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Trump also shocked the world in January with a surprise raid to capture Venezuela’s then-leader, Nicolás Maduro, and floated the idea of using force to seize Greenland.—
Michelle L. Price,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Thomas Müller hit the right post with a shot from outside the area in the 16th minute and, moments later, Brian White's shot from the center of the area sailed over the crossbar.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
There were no injuries reported or marine pollution observed, and the ship safely sailed into port with the help of four tugboats, according to the Hellenic Coast Guard.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Net-a-porter and Mr Porter veterans Heather Kaminetsky and Toby Bateman have assembled their teams, set their strategies and begun rewriting the sites’ music for a new generation, and for one-time fans who may have drifted away.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The Big Ten drifted from Chicago to Omaha.—
Jason Kirk,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wafted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wafted. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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