as in shrill
having a high musical pitch or range
the whistling sound of missiles as they sped toward their targets
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whistling
Adjective
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And each dares to honor the humanity in characters often reduced to predators and prey by one faction, shrill social justice warriors and brave free thinkers by another.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026 -
In turn, the tone has changed around Newcastle these past few days; less shrill, less edgy, less perilous.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Many of the cats were underweight with bones showing, and some suffering from respiratory infections were wheezing and had discharge around their eyes and noses.—
JT Moodee Lockman,
CBS News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Noah, however, couldn't run the length of a football field without wheezing.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Rising from the center of the bay is a Star Wars-style cockpit, neon-lit and hissing as the door opens to reveal a dashboard equipped with self-flying software.—
Noelle Harff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
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Meanwhile, the Bronx Zoo in New York has revived its annual tradition of naming one of the zoo’s thousands of Madagascar hissing cockroaches for $15.—
Julian Torres,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The motionless people drooling on the sidewalk, the Waymos whooshing around with no one inside.—
Sam Kriss,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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But the screams of pain were unmistakable, picked up a number of times by the microphones placed around the course, which usually deliver the evocative whooshing sounds of skiers hurtling down the slopes at speeds that feel inhuman.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Dollop whipped cream over panna cotta and spread, swooshing decoratively as desired.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Somehow, two sequels have materialized to update the swooshing neon visuals and cartoony renditions of a virtual world.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Whistling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whistling. Accessed 15 Mar. 2026.
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