1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

yawn 1 of 2

noun

Definition of yawnnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

yawn

2 of 2

verb

as in to snore

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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
As the wealth gap yawns ever wider, this has become a favorite question for storytellers to explore. — Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026 Tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour yourself a cup of ambition and yawn and stretch and get ready to go out onstage. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 7 July 2026
Verb
Eventually Ursula yawns and lumbers out of the den, with the cubs following. — Brooke Baitinger, Sacbee.com, 10 Apr. 2026 But now a desolate school year, long and full of needs not her own, yawned. — Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for yawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yawn
  1. bore
  2. snore
  3. drip
  4. snort
  5. gasp
  6. sniff
  7. snuffle
  8. wheeze
Noun
  • That led to some scary moments for those in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium, but after the Colts picked up two first downs, Kansas City’s defense bore down around midfield and regained possession.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Its creators expected coding and debugging effort to fall to less than one-fifth, and early use bore that out.
    — Boris Kontsevoi, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of bore
Verb
  • Reasons range from snoring to mismatched preferences around temperature, bedding, mattress firmness or noise and light levels.
    — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The first is a snoring-and-apnea problem hiding in plain sight.
    — Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of snore
Noun
  • Along with biotech firms researching cell aging and regeneration, the burgeoning business of longevity also includes the surge in demand for peptides, testosterone and supplements, along with IV drips, red-light therapies and biomarker trackers.
    — Robert Frank, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Step 5 Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into bag.
    — Hana Asbrink, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of drip
Verb
  • Brylan May, who met McCollough through her legal internship at the Writers Guild of America West in 2024, recalls once seeing McCollough snort a line of cocaine at a party and immediately throw up.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The former Oasis frontman told a particularly funny story about a flare up back in 1994, where a few fans of the band tried to snort his psoriasis.
    — Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of snort
Verb
  • Then came news from the delivery room that made everyone gasp.
    — Kelsey Monstrola, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026
  • There’s an almost comically blasé way in which the performers — who are used to such spectacles — go about their work an hour before thousands of audience members will gasp and clap at the same tricks.
    — Jenelle Riley, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of gasp
Verb
  • In the late 1950s, Johnny and Vivian Cash, his first wife, along with their three daughters, moved from Memphis, Tennessee to California as the fabled singer sniffed out a potential career in Hollywood, like his contemporary Elvis Presley.
    — David G. Allan, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
  • When The Associated Press visited Sunday, Tigrino cautiously emerged from his shelter, sniffed the air and paced around for a few minutes before slipping back into the foliage.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of sniff
Verb
  • Fava snuffled and dawdled and took her own sweet time up the sidewalk.
    — Dan Kois, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 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
Definition of snuffle
Verb
  • The defense struggled a bit in the first half with the reserves on the field even after producing a second-quarter interception, and the offense also gasped and wheezed with the reserves on the field.
    — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Lung inflammation makes breathing tougher and coughing and wheezing more frequent.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of wheeze

Browse Nearby Words

yawls
yawn
yawned
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Yawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yawn. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of confabulate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All