NOSING Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

nosing

verb

Definition of nosing

present participle of nose

as in sniffing

to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose could nose the garbage from across the street

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in interfering

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern a neighbor who likes to nose around in everyone else's business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dragging

to move slowly the line to get tickets is just nosing, so we are going to be here for a while

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nosing

Verb

And the men’s team in Midtown — led by owner James Dolan, who notoriously left the Liberty for dead — couldn’t come close to sniffing the Larry O’Brien trophy either.

— Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
Ryder said police got a call about Thompson acting irrationally and possibly sniffing glue.

— Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of sniffing

Verb

Specifically, the Melrose Place Body Cleanser, which leaves your skin baby-soft and smelling fantastic all day long.

— Gina Vaynshteyn, StyleCaster, 11 Aug. 2026
During Florida’s 2024 legalization campaign, Governor Ron DeSantis repeatedly argued that legalization would leave the state smelling like cannabis.

— Peter Su, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of smelling

Verb

Tests on Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, Unitree’s G1 and Boston Dynamics’ Spot showed the robots could perform crawling, cartwheels, handstands, soccer kicks and other complex movements across different robotic body types.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
Meanwhile in Broward County, a restaurant had two dozen live roaches inside the dishwasher, under a food warmer and chest freezer, and crawling on a wall.

— Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawling

Verb

Another man was taken to Insight Hospital and Medical Center in fair condition after also inhaling water, police said.

— Adam Harrington, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
People are thought to get infected by inhaling the amoeba from windblown dust or by getting contaminated soil or water in a wound.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of inhaling

Verb

Carrington has previously garnered controversy for poking Cunningham's teammate Caitlin Clark in the eye during the 2024 playoffs, and making controversial statements in the media.

— Jackson Thompson , Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
At first glance, corals present as little more than colorful rocks — piles of lobes, stalagmites, and branches poking out from the seafloor.

— Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of poking

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.

Browse Nearby Words

nosiness

nosing

nosing out

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Style

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

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Synonyms of nosing

verb

Example Sentences

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