WHIFFS Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

whiffs 1 of 2

noun

plural of whiff

as in hints

an almost imperceptible sign of something even a whiff of appreciation for everything I've done for her would have been nice

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

whiffs

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of whiff

as in smells

to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose whiffed the pot of chili on the stove and announced that he was staying for dinner

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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 whiffs

Noun

Hill’s most impressive skill is his ability to make contact and minimize whiffs. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026 Cameron induced 58 swings and 17 whiffs, per Baseball Savant. — Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026 Getty Images The MLB best home run bets have been in one of the longest droughts of the year, with eight straight whiffs on home run props. — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Peralta is eliciting whiffs at a career-worst rate, and a strikeout rate that used to sit above 30 percent has tumbled down to the league average this year. — Tim Britton, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Verb

Consider that a positive sign for a club that struggled last season with strikeouts and whiffs at its lowest points. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026 Some mention of bonus bets that whiffs of free money. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026 World Baseball Classic Team USA whiffs Team USA lost 3-2 to Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic title game Tuesday night. — Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026 Both whiffs only further reminded me what a top-tier star Clooney used to be, and these staid recent efforts help meta-textually burnish Jay Kelly’s initial setup. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Nov. 2025 Given Eldridge’s offensive profile, there will likely always be a fair amount of strikeouts and whiffs in his game. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whiffs

Noun

Astronomers observing Betelgeuse in 2024 found hints of a second star, and now a paper published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics strongly supports its existence.

— Phil Plait, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2026
The team also found hints that oxygen was present in the brine, and even a bit of genetic evidence to suggest that underground microbes might be capable of using it.

— James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of hints

Noun

There are glimmers of success in almost every advanced country, including the United States, at agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, which has finally begun to modernize its woefully out-of-date technology.

— Jennifer Pahlka, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
But take a closer look and the report actually provides glimmers of hope.

— TerDawn DeBoe, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of glimmers

Verb

The child inhales for four counts, holds for four counts, exhales for four counts and holds again for four counts.

— Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 10 Aug. 2026
The chemical is particularly tough on the human respiratory system and, depending on how much a person inhales, MMA can cause everything from sore throats and cough to dizziness, nausea and, at the highest levels, damage to the nervous system, Kleinman said.

— Sierra van der Brug, Oc Register, 23 May 2026

Definition of inhales

Noun

The water around the device and the rock above it shield the detector from the glare of cosmic radiation, allowing the flickers of less common particle interactions to shine through.

— James Dinneen, Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Since then, there were brief flickers from the likes of Paul Robinson or Rob Green, but there was a natural ceiling as to whom Leeds fielded as their goalkeeper when outside the top division of English football.

— Beren Cross, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Definition of flickers

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whiffing

whiffs

while

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Style

“Whiffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whiffs. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of whiffs

noun

verb

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