1
as in teasing
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
the servers at that restaurant flirt with all the customers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in darting
to make an irregular series of quick, sudden movements
lazily watched the butterflies flirting among the wildflowers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flirting
Harper scored 27 points off the bench, flirting with the Spurs’ playoff record for most in a game by a 20-year-old.
—
Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Apr. 2026
Anthropic has a habit of using dramatic, alarming-sounding language that can be tough to interrogate cleanly, including flirting with the idea that its Claude model might be conscious.
—Robert Hart, The Verge, 23 Apr. 2026
In the crowded field of candidates committed to or flirting with a run for mayor of Chicago, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias again dominated fundraising to start the year.
—Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lindsay leverages her own position in the club by flirting with the new tennis pro, Woosh, over text.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Our warmest day will be Wednesday with highs in the mid 80s, flirting with another 143-year-old record of 85° set back in 1883.
—Mary Ours, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Mikey never ended up doing anything beyond flirting, but his unfortunate turn of phrase was all Sydney needed to begin exploring her options in the villa.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
This could look like flirting with someone unexpectedly, diving into a passion project or deciding you’re done hiding in plain sight.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
Oil, after notching double-digit declines, is again flirting with $100 a barrel.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Apr. 2026
Anthropic has a habit of using dramatic, alarming-sounding language that can be tough to interrogate cleanly, including flirting with the idea that its Claude model might be conscious.
—Robert Hart, The Verge, 23 Apr. 2026
In the crowded field of candidates committed to or flirting with a run for mayor of Chicago, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias again dominated fundraising to start the year.
—Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, Lindsay leverages her own position in the club by flirting with the new tennis pro, Woosh, over text.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
Our warmest day will be Wednesday with highs in the mid 80s, flirting with another 143-year-old record of 85° set back in 1883.
—Mary Ours, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Mikey never ended up doing anything beyond flirting, but his unfortunate turn of phrase was all Sydney needed to begin exploring her options in the villa.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026
This could look like flirting with someone unexpectedly, diving into a passion project or deciding you’re done hiding in plain sight.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
Oil, after notching double-digit declines, is again flirting with $100 a barrel.
—Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flirting
Verb
-
Morgan Rogers fired wide from the ensuing chance, yet the sweeping move — teasing passes before going through the gears as play progressed upfield — was what Villa often desire, but can sometime lack.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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The footage, revealed on April 22, adopts a dark and scary tone, teasing a body horror film that will be a total departure from anything fans have seen from the DC Universe so far.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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From corners, Bromley pack the six-yard box, with multiple players darting towards its centre.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The hungry sharks surrounded Barley in the clips, leaping out of the water and quickly darting around his Sea-Doo.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The age-gap romance is one that Statsky said the writers have been toying around with for quite some time.—
Julia Moore,
PEOPLE,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The bill is the result of six years of studying and toying around the edges of PBM issues.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
9 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The report said the ultra wealthy are more mobile than ever, buying homes around the world and flitting from city to city more frequently.—
Robert Frank,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2026
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Although the Marshallese players were mostly stone-faced, their eyes—briefly flitting over to the crowd and the many cameras that followed them onto the field—belied both their excitement and anxiety at the gravity of the moment.—
Cheri Lucas Rowlands,
Longreads,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kick your legs in small up-and-down fluttering motions while keeping your lower back flat and abs tight throughout.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
8 Apr. 2026
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Video from the scene hours after the fire first erupted showed ash fluttering through the air and burned paper in the yards of homes across the street from the warehouse.—
Joy Benedict,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But anyone in the auto industry who didn’t feel like something was going to happen in China five years ago was fooling themselves.—
Jamie Lincoln Kitman,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Politicians are fooling themselves about the political power of health-conscious moms.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
New Year’s Eve brought music and dancing to the central square.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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The Moon is in your sign dancing beautifully with Mercury, Mars and Saturn, encouraging you to make sensible, practical plans for the future, especially related to travel, publishing, medicine and the law.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Just kidding, but that would’ve been awesome.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
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The interviewer said that Phillips, 65, was not kidding.—
Meredith Kile,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flirting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flirting. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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