as in afloat
riding upon the surface of a body of liquid
the wreckage remained floating for hours
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in hovering
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
a canoe floating down the river particles of dust floating in the air
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wandering
to move about from place to place aimlessly
lost touch with a childhood friend who spent much of his adult life floating from place to place
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of floating
Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2023
This tablet also comes with a full-sized floating keyboard that resembles Apple’s iPad Air and Pro Magic Keyboard.
—Patrick Moorhead, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2023
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The pipes and drains in the building that had originally been a gas station and café — and is now the main office and gift shop — were so dirty that, in the basement, Echols found 13 lawnmowers floating in four inches of water.
—Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for floating
Adjective
The United States shot down three more floating objects in the following days, then announced that there was no sign that any of them were connected to China.
—Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2023
This tablet also comes with a full-sized floating keyboard that resembles Apple’s iPad Air and Pro Magic Keyboard.
—Patrick Moorhead, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2023
Verb
Bluepoint Wind is an offshore wind project in the early stages of development off the coasts of New Jersey and New York, while Golden State Wind is a floating offshore wind project proposed off California’s central coast.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The pipes and drains in the building that had originally been a gas station and café — and is now the main office and gift shop — were so dirty that, in the basement, Echols found 13 lawnmowers floating in four inches of water.
—Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for floating
Recent Examples of Synonyms for floating
Adjective
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But in a statement, OCPS said the increases are the only way to stay afloat.—
Steven Walker,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
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The acquisition is a boon for the small startup, which has subsisted on $60 million over the last five years and previously struggled to stay afloat.—
Elaine Chen,
STAT,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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With interest rates hovering above 20% on many cards, carrying a balance even for a few months can quickly snowball.—
Joshua Sidorowicz,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
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Today, with Apple’s market cap hovering around $4 trillion, that 10% stake could theoretically be worth more than $400 billion.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The visual of a 450-pound llama in a pirate hat wandering past a Starbucks kiosk is, apparently, just a normal Tuesday at PDX.—
Hanna Wickes,
Sacbee.com,
23 Apr. 2026
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The film follows Airi (Hoshi), a wandering medium who spends her life guiding restless spirits out of the world of the living.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Euphoria later resumed sailing toward the Gulf of Oman, according to Lloyd’s List.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
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Ships sailing the Great Lakes are also designed for expedition-style travel, with a focus on education, science, and environmental awareness.—
Elaine Rojas-Castillo,
CBS News,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Celebrate by roaming the stacks after dark at this festival.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
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Fish and wildlife officials advise people to remove bird feeders until the turkeys leave the area and install sprinklers if the wild fowl keep roaming into yards.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The stream rushed by, as clear and inviting as the nearby lake that their father forbade them from swimming in.—
Lizzie Johnson,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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The young mallards were spotted swimming at the bottom of a gutter, 3 feet below a street on the outskirts of Chester, England, on Wednesday, April 22.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hyper-stylized and overtly sinister, the new trailer opens on Dakota Johnson drifting through a shadowy, intimate home wearing a silk robe.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
27 Apr. 2026
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Over 100 radioactive elements, tens of millions of curies, were sent drifting across the continent for 10 days.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Then the four front propellers tilted forward, and the aircraft accelerated, no longer hanging on its rotors like a helicopter but cruising on its wings like a small airplane.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
25 Apr. 2026
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The fifth-inning dinger got the Bombers on the board, as Boston southpaw Payton Tolle had been cruising up to that point.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Floating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/floating. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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