Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of whinny
Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied.
—Chris Torres, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2026
McCaffrey is whinnying as the workhorse.
—Brad Evans, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
The downy woodpecker also whinnies like a miniature horse throughout the breeding season.
—Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth is one of the oldest proverbs known to humankind, whinnying back at least 1,500 years.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2024
That doesn’t include food for the horses, who start whinnying.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Kenny was large for his age, with a flat, flabby face and a high, whinnying voice.
—Aryn Kyle, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
Some unidentified whinnying joins the cacophony that accompanies gentrification—brash and brazen, with a total disregard for anything other than its own bullish desire.
—Rebecca Haithcoat, GQ, 5 June 2018
Kate Perez, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
The whinny is an unusual combination of both high and low-pitched sounds — like a cross between a grunt and a squeal — that come out at the same time.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
The whinny is produced by two simultaneous sounds, known as biphonation.
—Liz Neporent, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
The offseason came and went with little more than a few contract whinnies from Bronco ringleaders.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 July 2025
Wild ponies, svelte & savage, graze in dune grasses, whinny, yawn.
—J.t. Townley, The New York Review of Books, 6 Mar. 2025
This works, Brian says, and leans back against the wall, the dog panting less, the faint whinny of a horse, an airplane.
—Paul Yoon, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2024
One of the horses fell on its side, its high whinny like a human scream.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2022
Laughter punctuates the exaggerated whinnies, proving that the source is not in fact a horse.
—Kalyn Kahler, SI.com, 11 June 2018
Verb
In the field, Harry Truman’s Approval Rating whinnied and tossed its head, and Richard Nixon’s Approval Rating flopped on one side and emitted a horrible gurgle.
—Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied.
—Chris Torres, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Jan. 2026
McCaffrey is whinnying as the workhorse.
—Brad Evans, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
The downy woodpecker also whinnies like a miniature horse throughout the breeding season.
—Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth is one of the oldest proverbs known to humankind, whinnying back at least 1,500 years.
—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2024
That doesn’t include food for the horses, who start whinnying.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024
Kenny was large for his age, with a flat, flabby face and a high, whinnying voice.
—Aryn Kyle, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024
Some unidentified whinnying joins the cacophony that accompanies gentrification—brash and brazen, with a total disregard for anything other than its own bullish desire.
—Rebecca Haithcoat, GQ, 5 June 2018
Noun
Put together, those two sounds − one whistled, one vocalized − combine to create the familiar whinny or neigh people hear.
—Kate Perez, USA Today, 25 Feb. 2026
The whinny is an unusual combination of both high and low-pitched sounds — like a cross between a grunt and a squeal — that come out at the same time.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
The whinny is produced by two simultaneous sounds, known as biphonation.
—Liz Neporent, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
The offseason came and went with little more than a few contract whinnies from Bronco ringleaders.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 July 2025
Wild ponies, svelte & savage, graze in dune grasses, whinny, yawn.
—J.t. Townley, The New York Review of Books, 6 Mar. 2025
This works, Brian says, and leans back against the wall, the dog panting less, the faint whinny of a horse, an airplane.
—Paul Yoon, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2024
One of the horses fell on its side, its high whinny like a human scream.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2022
Laughter punctuates the exaggerated whinnies, proving that the source is not in fact a horse.
—Kalyn Kahler, SI.com, 11 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whinny
Verb
-
As such, the distinct sound that people hear when a horse neighs or whinnies is likely the animal relaying various independent messages or emotions at once, the study says.—
Kate Perez,
USA Today,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Across from them in their usual stalls stood the eight neighing horses.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
Noun
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This causes a blast of high-energy radiation called a gamma-ray burst (GRB), a final screech of gravitational waves, and sends out a spray of neutron-rich matter, which allows a process to occur that generates very heavy but unstable elements.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
4 Feb. 2026
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The only noise is the dip-dip of oars and the ethereal screech of horseshoe bats.—
Tristan Rutherford,
Robb Report,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied.—
Chris Torres,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The soldiers muttered encouragement; their horses nickered.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA TODAY,
6 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The whinny is an unusual combination of both high and low-pitched sounds — like a cross between a grunt and a squeal — that come out at the same time.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
-
More squeals of support, and demands to see a picture.—
Hannah Abraham,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Late that afternoon, Flint was sitting quietly against his tree and using a Primos can call to make bleats.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
3 Dec. 2025
-
His tent grows dim, and sheep bleat for water outside.—
Arsalan Bukhari,
Christian Science Monitor,
12 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
He was missed — especially vocally — since Gill’s angelic voice does not, in any way shape or form, resemble Walsh’s charmingly out-of-pitch squawk-talk style.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
25 Jan. 2026
-
Toy keyboard plinks and saxophone squawks spiral over a booming racket of drums in the ether, slyly threatening to collapse, like an elaborate plate-spinning act.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
My father mistakes it for the verb to bray, like a donkey.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Beneath them, water tore through a broken pipe, its current grinding out a low roar — and suddenly, Borsutzki and Kurban’s drive home from practice no longer felt routine.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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The jet engine roar has been almost nonstop ever since, much to the frustration and insomnia of Gossett and his neighbors.—
Bracey Harris,
NBC news,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whinny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whinny. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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