yawn 1 of 2

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

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
Saliva, a yawn, even the sound of hair being twirled crackles with intensity thanks to Julij Zornik’s stark sound design. David Opie, IndieWire, 4 Dec. 2025 Even though the official Survivor 49 pre-merge emoji might be a big fat yawn (or, perhaps a chicken screaming for mercy), there are signs that Probst did not even need to give his pre-challenge pep talk. Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
San Diego State led the Toreros by 24 at the break and yawned its way to an 87-54 win in the final preseason basketball exhibition for both schools. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Oct. 2025 There are yawning divisions internally about the credibility of coverage, with many in the Jewish community attacking BBC News’ output as being anti-Israeli, pointing to failings, including Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was revealed to have been narrated by the child of a Hamas minister. Jake Kanter, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for yawn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yawn
Noun
  • Beneath the school’s football field, there are 160 bore holes, each 500 feet deep, containing pipes that harness the relatively consistent underground temperatures to regulate temperatures in the school.
    Rory Linnane, jsonline.com, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Marchand did not see the ice in OT but calmly stepped to the center dot, bore in on Korpisalo and beat him over the glove with a pretty backhander, a move Pastrnak knows well.
    Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • My father was a lump under the covers, snoring a thick growl.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Wilder slept through an entire lunch at Raffles, oblivious to the art deco glamour around him, and during our first food tour in Singapore, Ross carried him—dead weight, snoring—in the 90-degree heat while our guide gamely described chili sauces.
    Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The Right Way to Water Your Vegetable Garden The best way to water a vegetable garden is with a soaker or drip hose.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Wanda turns the tiny decanter spout; the ice-cold water drip-drops onto the sugar cube, held over the glass of absinthe by a slotted spoon.
    David Cook, Southern Living, 4 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Asked how much more expensive the sport has become over the last five years, Canadian pilot Taylor Austin, competing in his second Olympics, snorted.
    Lindsay Schnell, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2026
  • Why an offensive line coach was caught snorting cocaine off his training camp desk.
    Greg Cote January 26, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The View's audience gasped at the observation, which Haines strongly countered.
    Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Mar. 2026
  • The Iranian state television announcer was gasping for air.
    Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Some compare sniffing isopropanol with a saline or water placebo, others with different aromatherapy scents such as peppermint or lavender, and others with conventional antiemetics.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2026
  • While police have not determined how long the girls had been buried at that location, the man whose dog sniffed them out told a local television station that the mound of dirt under which one of the bodies was found had been there at least a week.
    Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 5 Mar. 2026
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
  • 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
  • Noah, however, couldn't run the length of a football field without wheezing.
    Gail Sheehy, Vanity Fair, 20 Feb. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Yawn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yawn. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on yawn

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