SWARMING Synonyms: 97 Similar and Opposite Words

swarming 1 of 3

adjective

as in crowded

possessing or covered with great numbers or amounts of something specified the museum was swarming with schoolchildren on a field trip

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

swarming

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of swarm

as in flocking

to move upon or fill (something) in great numbers meeting little resistance, the pirates swarmed the decks of the merchant ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in bursting

to be copiously supplied at this time of year that Mexican resort swarms with college students on spring break

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

swarming

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of swarm

as in climbing

to move (as up or over something) often with the help of the hands in holding or pulling one of the physical challenges had competitors swarming over a pile of logs

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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 swarming

Verb

After that, chaos erupted, with dozens of masked people swarming the business. — Lesley Marin, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 Brees alone didn’t easily dispose of the Cardinals, thanks to one of Reggie Bush’s most memorable NFL performances and a swarming Saints defense. — Larry Holder, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026 But the company has already demonstrated such drone swarming capability during a live-fire combat exercise at a US military range at Camp Blanding in Florida. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026 Earlier this year, Orlando police also released video showing hundreds of riders on e-bikes swarming downtown streets, running red lights, blocking traffic and delaying an ambulance. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Sparkly, semiattired Lolla kids are this weekend swarming around such oft-deserted environs as Van Buren Street, Jackson Boulevard and State Street. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026 The first drills Monday focused on rebounding, the next half-dozen on various aspects of their pressuring, helping, swarming, trapping defense. — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 July 2026 Following her visit with the victims, Jiminez went back home to take a nap, but soon heard police swarming the street, followed soon by an explosion, then gunfire. — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 26 July 2026 And almost none of the capital swarming into AI is going in this direction. — Alexander Kardos-Nyheim, Fortune, 25 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swarming

Adjective

As neighborhoods become more crowded, smaller cars are easier to maneuver.

— Beth Livesay, AJC.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Many brands, particularly in today’s ever-more crowded and competitive makeup environment, might have launched anyway.

— Kathryn Hopkins, Footwear News, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of crowded

Verb

The wealth of the richest Americans has torqued upward, bursting through the top of the graph, with no end in sight, completely untethered from the rest of the United States.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Murphy has built an empire by keeping a full-to-bursting pipeline of shows and returning to certain creative wells.

— CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of bursting

Verb

But data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the test positivity rate for the week ending August 8 above 3% for the first time since March, with numbers climbing in every state.

— Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
The numbers are vast and climbing again but during the countdown to another season, beginning on Friday night, there has been another timely marker to illustrate the rapid financial growth of the Premier League and its elite.

— Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of climbing

Adjective

Maybe the sign-up flow has too many fields, the first action users need to take isn't obvious or there's a setting that should have been pre-filled.

— Kelli Behan-Aspland, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
The Wall Street Journal featured Reese alongside WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson on its magazine cover, even after Caitlin Clark broke numerous records, filled arenas, and set new marks for WNBA broadcasts.

— Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026

Definition of filled

Verb

Unlike many other fruit trees, persimmons develop a deep taproot, meaning the bare-root tree should be planted deeper to allow the main root to extend straight down without bending or crowding.

— SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 12 Aug. 2026
Yet along with this should come the recognition that the highs achieved by those momentum stocks in the second quarter came from massive leverage and crowding that won’t quickly return, not from pure fundamental improvement.

— Michael Santoli, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of crowding

Verb

The lodge is usually buzzing with guests playing card games, enjoying daily happy hour, or sitting by the roaring fireplace.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Aug. 2026
District Superintendent Monica Schroeder noted the various technologies and advancements at the school, including even the lights — the days of bright, buzzing overhead lights are over, with lights that can be dimmed.

— Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of buzzing

Verb

For survivors scattered around the world scrambling for sanctuary, Toon and his group say Australia might emerge as a comparative safe-haven, with only minor disruptions to its cultivation of wheat and other crops.

— Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
The errant throw caused a scrambling Lombard to collide with Guerrero at third.

— Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of scrambling

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“Swarming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swarming. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of swarming

adjective

verb (1)

verb (2)

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