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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What's more, this door alarm features three sensitivity levels and emits a loud, shrill sound that will instantly scare an intruder away.—
Stephanie Gray,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Jan. 2026 -
When Nosferatu showed his corpselike face, the Wonder Morton’s Vox Humana (human voice) and concert-flute pipes buzzed together in a shrill cluster.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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One room cracked up at a vulgar joke about a woman’s behind, while another went for an outrageous and surreal midfilm montage — but each bit was made genuinely funnier by the dozens of people gasping and wheezing over it.—
Robert Rubsam,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ken Johnson, the homeowner, said Monday that the bear has been growling and hissing, terrifying him and his cat.—
NBC Los Angeles,
NBC news,
2 Dec. 2025
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Look for signs like the cat stopping purring, stiffening, thrashing their tail, or hissing.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The target audience will presumably be sent whooshing back in time to the summer of 2007 by the Proustian sounds of Vegas rock band The Killers, whose music plays a significant role for two of the main characters.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 Oct. 2025
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These Bose over-ear headphones provide ample noise cancellation to drown out blaring car horns and whooshing subways)and a 24-hour battery life.—
Clara McMahon,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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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And for those hoping to spend some time swooshing down the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, a $20 million penthouse at Utah‘s uber-luxe Montage Deer Valley may be just the ticket.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
3 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Whistling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whistling. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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