whinny 1 of 2

as in to neigh
to make the cry typical of a horse the father whinnied and reared as his young daughter pretended to ride him

Synonyms & Similar Words

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whinny

2 of 2

noun

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 whinny
Verb
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 But the methodical, meditative act of grooming a horse — brush, brush, brush — and the smell of hay and the gentle whinnies from the 1,200-pound creature have been therapy for Alger. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 17 May 2018 Animal grunts and growls, horse neighs and whinnies. Charles Desmarais, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Apr. 2018 An astonishing collection of laughs — whinnies, giggles, squeals, snorts, heaves — gradually colors the narrative, until this seemingly harmless man becomes, in effect, not just a witness to savagery, but also an accessory. Jesse Green, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2018
Noun
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 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. James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 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 The 10-year-old mare bucked, whinnied, and galloped, sensing the pride of victory. Mitchell Gladstone, Philly.com, 2 June 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whinny
Verb
  • Across from them in their usual stalls stood the eight neighing horses.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The band joked about adding a neighing horse to the intro, and Rimes quickly inserted that sound from his plug-in collection.
    Tom Roland, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2024
Noun
  • So rang the delighted screech of a young Manchester United fan outside the Progress with Unity Stadium, an hour before United’s Women’s Champions League debut against Valarenga on Wednesday night.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Things flash and roar and screech and skitter through the dark.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The soldiers muttered encouragement; their horses nickered.
    Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025
  • 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.
    James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 2024
Noun
  • Sophi of course squeals, which puts the pink-haired frontwoman on the outs with mostly everyone.
    Nick Caruso, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
  • Instead of chocolate or a throwaway trinket, this calendar delivers 25 days of genuine squeal-worthy surprises.
    Katie Ann Lehman, StyleCaster, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Not all Republicans agreed, but their bleats of complaint hardly suggested a Congress that had finally found the moment to reassert its institutional prerogatives.
    Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2025
  • This album might’ve broken trap music for good, melting it into a puddle of bleats and hiccups that hit like ASMR whispers and stipple sounds.
    Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • According to outlets Airlive and Travel and Tour World, crews on board issued an emergency squawk code 7600.
    Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
  • Yet, leading up to the show, the squawks from the models sounded more like practical concerns than diva demands.
    Henry Alford, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Anchored by Syracuse University, the city hums with youthful spirit, from buzzy Marshall Street to the roar of the JMA Wireless Dome, where Orange basketball games regularly draw some of the largest crowds in college hoops.
    Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The only noise was the roar of the crowd when Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder intercepted passes on back-to-back drives, or when Bryce Underwood rolled out and found a wide-open Zack Marshall in the end zone.
    Austin Meek, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Doing this yelp as a human may work when training certain dogs, but the AKC advises that with some puppies, this could actually get the puppy more worked up and likely to bite.
    Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The complacent faces of phony mediums swirl in my head, along with unsettling spirit photographs and images of puppies that had died with a sudden yelp for no apparent reason.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Whinny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whinny. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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