1
as in perching
to come to rest after descending from the air
a flock of eight swans circled above, then alighted on the pond
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in descending
to come down from something (as a vehicle)
as she alighted from the train, she momentarily lost her footing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of alighting
Just as the sun prepared to sink beyond the escarpments, its rays struck every piece of the fractured glass resting on top of the window frames, alighting all of them at once, as if they were shot with electricity.
—
New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Images showed Kim in a black jacket, alighting a mobile missile launcher near the main stage as thousands of people waved small North Korean flags.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Over the course of extended scenes, the eye roams the frame, alighting on the pop of natural and manmade details alike.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The colors are richly saturated, and when something catches Ryan’s eye—say, a bee alighting on a wildflower—the images shimmer with an almost radioactive intensity.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Say each word was a bird—alighting briefly, out of reach and then gone again.
—Leila Chatti
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
The second was to build what amounts to a nonflammable moat around a home to prevent embers from alighting on anything next to a house that could burn and ignite the structure.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Sound of Falling skips back and forth through time, alighting on moments of both horror and grace across a century in the lives of four women—adolescent and adult—inhabiting the same unsettled spaces.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
New York Times, 16 Mar. 2026
Images showed Kim in a black jacket, alighting a mobile missile launcher near the main stage as thousands of people waved small North Korean flags.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 19 Feb. 2026
Over the course of extended scenes, the eye roams the frame, alighting on the pop of natural and manmade details alike.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The colors are richly saturated, and when something catches Ryan’s eye—say, a bee alighting on a wildflower—the images shimmer with an almost radioactive intensity.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
Say each word was a bird—alighting briefly, out of reach and then gone again.
—Leila Chatti
september 5, Literary Hub, 5 Sep. 2025
The second was to build what amounts to a nonflammable moat around a home to prevent embers from alighting on anything next to a house that could burn and ignite the structure.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2025
Sound of Falling skips back and forth through time, alighting on moments of both horror and grace across a century in the lives of four women—adolescent and adult—inhabiting the same unsettled spaces.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for alighting
Verb
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Another member of pop’s new generation, Addison Rae, was on hand to hype up the crowd while perching on the edge of the DJ booth.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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Photos and videos of Chonkers hopping onto docks and perching among his smaller California sea lion friends have garnered thousands of views on social media.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hundreds of Russian drones were descending, each the size of a Jet Ski, accompanied by more than a dozen missiles.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Countries that tried to adopt Western-style democracy quickly after the Arab Spring largely failed, often descending into chaos, civil war or new forms of authoritarianism.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For Roseman, the value of landing a top-15 player in the first round trumped the extra dart throws in the fourth round.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The pair collided with such force that Dumoulin got knocked up about two feet in the air before landing hard on his padded backside.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The popular halftime performer known as Red Panda finished her signature seven-minute set, looked up at a crowd of fans chanting her name and flashed a smile before dismounting.—
Alanis Thames,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Jan. 2026
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The woman told investigators Herzing had made similar threats in July, which resulted in the victim suffering minor scrapes after dismounting at a stoplight.—
Lauren Breunig,
Twin Cities,
2 Dec. 2025
Verb
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He was photographed in the cockpit before changing out of his uniform and disembarking with the Queen.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Air traffic control now had to prepare for the possibility of disembarking passengers on the taxiway using an airstair truck and transporting them to the terminal.—
Colleen Mondor,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Alighting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alighting. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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