drifting 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of driftingnext
1
as in ranging

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in hovering

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Dissimilar Words

drifting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of drift
1
as in flowing
to move or proceed smoothly and readily casual conversation drifting from one topic to another

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in floating
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air the boat drifted along on the current

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wandering
to move about from place to place aimlessly spent several years drifting from town to town, picking up odd jobs whenever he needed cash

Synonyms & Similar 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 drifting
Verb
Satellite imagery shows a haze of wildfire smoke drifting from West Kalimantan into neighboring Malaysia on several days this month, according to BNPB. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026 On Tuesday the Bay Area Air District issued an air quality advisory for Tuesday and Wednesday due to smoke from the Timber Fire drifting into the region. — Tim Fang, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026 Trump signals a shift to economic pressure as the Iran war keeps drifting. — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026 What if the monitoring system itself is drifting, remaining optimized for what the organization can measure while becoming less representative of what customers experience? — Gerald J. Leonard, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 There’s little sense of forward motion in these tracks, but even when simply drifting in place, the blend of atmosphere and physicality—sunset glow meets seismic throb—is payoff enough. — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026 Three reached shore, but one man continued drifting downstream while clinging to a cooler. — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Order a drink, sit down for 20 minutes, and the odds of drifting toward a rack of clothing or a display of accessories climb sharply. — Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Aug. 2026 Fishing trips from King Salmon can take many forms, from drifting the broad Naknek River in a metal skiff boat to hopping aboard a floatplane for waters that see few other anglers all season. — Bailey Berg, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drifting
  1. wandering
  2. hovering
  3. flowing
  4. floating
  5. roaming
  6. rambling
  7. hanging
  8. gliding
Adjective
  • They are known to ruin picnics, chase wandering children, and terrorize those who accidentally mow over a nest.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The problem isn’t the wandering trees, but the wandering narrative, which needs deeper roots.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of wandering
Adjective
  • The drones then find the best hovering altitude before each lining up to spray the fire, one after the other.
    — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 20 July 2026
  • He-Man was now a jolly, quip-ready hero, whose best friends were scaredy-cat Cringer (a green-and-yellow tiger who transformed into Battle Cat), and an annoying, hovering magician called Orko.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 June 2026
Definition of hovering
Verb
  • Despite threats of a blockade of the Red Sea’s Bab-al-Mandeb strait from Iran’s Houthi allies, ship traffic has been flowing at a close-to-normal clip through that waterway in recent weeks.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Elsewhere is an exercise room, an art studio, and an office suite with its own entrance, as well as a primary suite boasting a walk-in closet and a luxe bath flowing out to a serene meditation garden with a hot tub.
    — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of flowing
Verb
  • There, satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows the Christophe de Margerie sidled up against a sprawling floating storage unit, in a formation typical of ship-to-ship cargo transfers.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Photos of the outside cemetery show flooding and floating debris.
    — Dave Savini, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of floating
Verb
  • Some of them, like the one I got stranded on, were full of green rolling hills, tall grasses that rustled in the wind, and wild goats and deer roaming free.
    — Annie Daly, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Rameez Ansar, Group CEO of Circles, which operates Jetpac Travel eSIM that reinvents roaming with global access, lower costs & smoother UX.
    — Rameez Ansar, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of roaming
Adjective
  • Even her supporters glance askance at one another during her rambling entreaties.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The chaotic hearing was marked by Castro-Arroyo rambling and frequently interrupting Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Sue Venzer as an interpreter translated the proceeding.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of rambling
Adjective
  • Opt for bigger hanging bulbs, discrete flickers, or even hanging sheaths.
    — Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 3 Apr. 2026
  • To maintain the immersive illusion, Iñárritu eschewed traditional hanging fabric.
    — Robert Lang, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2026
Definition of hanging
Verb
  • In the videos, shot by drone by Joanna Steidle, the creatures can be seen gliding just beneath the water’s surface like hundreds of raviolis floating in aquamarine broth.
    — Sanidhya Sharma, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Video from his dash camera shows the aircraft gliding under a highway sign, missing it by mere feet, before touching down in the empty lanes.
    — Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of gliding

Browse Nearby Words

drifters
drifting
drifts
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Cite this Entry

“Drifting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drifting. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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