crawling 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of crawlingnext
as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed the crawling pace of the narrative is really frustrating

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

crawling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of crawl
1
as in creeping
to move slowly with the body close to the ground the time we had to crawl through a narrow passageway from one cave to another

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in dragging
to move slowly the weekend traffic on the road to the beach just crawled

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poking
to move or act slowly the deadline is fast approaching, so this is no time to crawl

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bursting
to be copiously supplied something must be up, as city hall is crawling with reporters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for crawling
  1. leisurely
  2. creeping
  3. poking
  4. bursting
  5. slow
  6. shuffling
  7. buzzing
  8. humming
Adjective
  • The film eschews traditional dramatic structures, unfolding episodically at a leisurely pace while Karoline struggles to keep her life from completely derailing.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2024
  • Wild at Tart, is the place for a leisurely lunch with a variety of sharing plates focussed on a sustainable and seasonal approach.
    Michele Robson, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
Definition of leisurely
Verb
  • The prostrate or creeping forms are less winter hardy but only grow 8-10 inches tall but cascade along the ground.
    Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 9 Dec. 2024
  • All of which would probably block any other incoming administration’s pick for a receptionist—let alone a Secretary of Defense—from creeping forward.
    Philip Elliott, TIME, 4 Dec. 2024
Definition of creeping
Verb
  • Only two small wedges are visible, poking up through the ground at adjacent graves.
    Travis Loller, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • Take Kule’s for example—the red stripes would look so chic poking out from beneath a tonal knit or ladylike jacket.
    Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of poking
Verb
  • How to keep pipes from bursting When temperatures drop to freezing conditions, pipes have the potential to burst due to the expansion of water.
    Lauren De Young, The Arizona Republic, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Pipes are prone to bursting during cold spells.
    Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of bursting
Adjective
  • The Wi-Fi will always be slow and the gossip will always be fast.
    Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Dec. 2024
  • Snow has been slow to arrive in Big Bear this year, but the long-term forecast calls for big changes.
    Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Definition of slow
Verb
  • In addition, both received the Order of the British Empire in different years (2003 and 2017, respectively), and some tabloid media are shuffling the possibility of their knighthood.
    Nuria Luis, Glamour, 4 Dec. 2024
  • James has been shuffling between the Lakers and the G League as Los Angeles tries to work out a plan to give him time for development.
    Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 24 Nov. 2024
Definition of shuffling
Verb
  • Compiled annually by a group led by Franklin Leonard, a recipient of a Gotham tribute award this year, Variety waits with childlike anticipation each year to see which scripts film executives have really been buzzing over — but haven’t had the budget or the chutzpah to put into production just yet.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 Dec. 2024
  • Andrews’ three-pointer banked into the basket with four-tenths of a second left, leaving a crowd that had been buzzing moments earlier in stunned disbelief.
    Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of buzzing
Verb
  • Heading into the summer, though, the Trojans’ out-of-state pursuits appeared to be humming along.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
  • Health, family, this humming season of life.
    Lizz Schumer, People.com, 23 Nov. 2024
Definition of humming
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near crawling

crawlers

crawling

crawls

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Crawling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crawling. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on crawling

Nglish: Translation of crawling for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of crawling for Arabic Speakers

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...