yawn 1 of 2

as in bore
someone or something boring as neither candidate was willing to make an unequivocal statement about anything, the debate proved to be a complete yawn

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

yawn

2 of 2

verb

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 yawn
Noun
Beyond that is the main event: the big blue sea, which is making great crunching sounds as the waves stretch and yawn. Daisy Jones, Vogue, 15 July 2025 On the Thursday, July 10 episode of the 3rd Hour of Today, Melvin, 46, got called out for yawning during an interview with ‘80s icon Rick Springfield. Rachel McRady, People.com, 10 July 2025
Verb
Plans were met with questions, reservations, rejection, bewilderment, violence, and, more recently, a yawn. Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025 For instance, a yawn in a canine often signals stress, not tiredness, and lip-licking can indicate anxiety. Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for yawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yawn
Noun
  • Experts said the Louvre robbery bore many of the hallmarks of these crimes, including getting away on motorbikes, entering the property in broad daylight and using brute force.
    N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Meanwhile, Palestinian doctors said some of the roughly 120 bodies Israel has returned to Gaza bore signs of torture or execution, and most had bands on their necks, the Associated Press reported.
    Sophie Carson, jsonline.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Dodson was flaked out in the back, lying back, head out like that, snoring away there.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
  • These humidifier deals are best for dry homes, snoring spouses and fall colds.
    Staff, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Cut large sheets of parchment paper and place one in front of each chair to serve as craft mats so glitter and glue gun drip can fall there instead of on your favorite tablecloth.
    Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Freeland added drip irrigation lines to his pumpkin field by pumping water from his well.
    Asher Redd, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • About two weeks after Skaggs died, Mead received a call from a former employee who told Mead that Kay had admitted being in the room with Skaggs and seeing the pitcher snort drugs prior to his death.
    Sean Emery, Oc Register, 18 Oct. 2025
  • Just hours after snorting the drug, Sarah awoke to find her girlfriend unresponsive beside her.
    Rachel Hale, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The powerful primate makes contact with the glass wall with a heavy thud, which leaves the group near the wall gasping and yelping in fear.
    Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Reactions from the crowd can be heard in the background — with zoo visitors gasping.
    Ashley J. DiMella, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Common signals include sniffing, circling, squatting, or whining.
    Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The picture shows them on the floor together with Comet fully exposing his belly, a sign of trust, while Dottie sniffs him.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In front of them, warthogs snuffled around in the grass.
    Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 8 July 2025
  • Next to arrive is her disembodied trunk, with a mind of its own, snuffling out friends and enemies and food.
    Jesse Green, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Verb
  • 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
  • The film wheezes through its less-than-80-minute running time, and no one seems all that sad to move on.
    Will Leitch, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Yawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yawn. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

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