slithering

verb

present participle of slither
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground a snake slithering through the garden

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 slithering Here are seven solutions to keep these animals slithering past your yard. — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 6 July 2026 There are anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) currently slithering through the Florida Everglades. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 July 2026 North Carolina is crawling, or perhaps slithering, with copperheads. — Eva Flowe, Charlotte Observer, 22 June 2026 On land, movements range from crawling and slithering (worms, mollusks, arthropods, snakes) to walking and running. — Literary Hub, 22 June 2026 His wife, Cheryl Hines, is heard off camera asking him to be careful with the slithering reptiles. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 26 May 2026 But his idealized vision of a past paradise of social cohesion that late-stage capitalism destroyed doesn’t reckon with the snakes that were always there in this imaginary Eden, including a personal betrayal that’s close to home and only comes slithering out in a moment of drunken weakness. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026 Embiid is waiting to impede Bridges, but Bridges doesn’t even touch him, instead slithering around his left hip. — Fred Katz, New York Times, 15 May 2026 As Seth seethes about his separation from his home country (and the family fortune), Arias interweaves a backstory involving assassination, undisclosed parentage and (as the title suggests) the perilous creatures slithering across the landscape. — Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slithering
  1. creeping
  2. crawling
  3. snaking
  4. sliding
Verb
  • Inflation creeping higher The extreme heat compounds an expensive summer for Europe, where the war has already pushed up energy costs.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a growing split between jobs where pay is jumping and jobs where raises are creeping along.
    — Jason St. Angelo, USA Today, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of creeping
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
  • Previously centered on Nashville and central Tennessee, the district now extends to the northwest corner of the state before snaking south along the Mississippi River to Memphis.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • After Haystack Pass—one of the trail’s most significant ascents—the Highline continues, snaking across open valleys, offering nearly uninterrupted views before reaching the Granite Park Chalet.
    — Taryn Shorr-Mckee, Travel + Leisure, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of snaking
Verb
  • These guys might do much of the unglamorous work that goes unnoticed, breaking up play, playing short passes and sliding across into position to snuff out counter-attacks, but their role is highly valued in the transfer market.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • An Intensity Slider – a simple sliding bar adjustment for controlling the depth, vibrancy, brightness and contrast of the TV’s pictures to compensate for viewing angles, onscreen reflections and simply different viewing tastes.
    — John Archer, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of sliding

Browse Nearby Words

slithered
slithering
slithers
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Cite this Entry

“Slithering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slithering. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on slithering

Nglish: Translation of slithering for Spanish Speakers

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