variants
also slews
or slues
as in marshes
spongy land saturated or partially covered with water
the land for miles around the lake is strewn with ponds, sloughs, and mudflats
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in shuffles
to move heavily or clumsily
the unpleasant task of sloughing through the muck to retrieve the ball
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also sluffs
as in sheds
to cast (a natural bodily covering or appendage) aside
the snake is sloughing its old skin
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 sloughs
New Atlas, 26 Jan. 2026
Explore a white-sand beach and the sinks, swales, and sloughs found within the 2,500-acre Suwannee River Water Management District.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
They are found in a wide variety of habitats but prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs, pine flatwoods, and more open agricultural areas.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
If something happens to the water, land or the sloughs that hold the wild rice beds, the tribe has nowhere else to go, Tsosie explained.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Find a general area where ducks seem to be frequenting and then mark the public sloughs and potholes that can’t be seen from the road.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2025
Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
Primarily, there are beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) courtesy of lipo hydroxy acid (LHA), a deep-penetrating chemical exfoliant that gently sloughs off old, dead cells to reveal brighter, fresher skin.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 11 Mar. 2026
The stand collar is ideal for keeping the chill out, too, while a water-resistant fabric sloughs off rain and snow with ease.
—Michelle Tchea, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2026
This option by Neogen utilizes a three layer design, part of which is from 100% cotton mesh, that manually sloughs away dead skin cells.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
Hyperia then automatically slews to the target and performs an operation called astrometry – measuring the precise positions of stars to double-check its accuracy.
—New Atlas, 26 Jan. 2026
Explore a white-sand beach and the sinks, swales, and sloughs found within the 2,500-acre Suwannee River Water Management District.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
They are found in a wide variety of habitats but prefer oak-cabbage palm hammocks, freshwater marshes and sloughs, pine flatwoods, and more open agricultural areas.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
If something happens to the water, land or the sloughs that hold the wild rice beds, the tribe has nowhere else to go, Tsosie explained.
—Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Find a general area where ducks seem to be frequenting and then mark the public sloughs and potholes that can’t be seen from the road.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 6 Aug. 2025
Verb
Lactic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid, which gently sloughs away dead skin cells to reveal softer, smoother skin.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
Primarily, there are beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) courtesy of lipo hydroxy acid (LHA), a deep-penetrating chemical exfoliant that gently sloughs off old, dead cells to reveal brighter, fresher skin.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 11 Mar. 2026
The stand collar is ideal for keeping the chill out, too, while a water-resistant fabric sloughs off rain and snow with ease.
—Michelle Tchea, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2026
This option by Neogen utilizes a three layer design, part of which is from 100% cotton mesh, that manually sloughs away dead skin cells.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sloughs
Noun
-
Book a kayak or paddleboard tour with Outer Banks Kayak Adventures for a morning or moonlight paddle through the marshes of the Roanoke Sound and Cape Hatteras National Seashore.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2026
-
The fifth annual Toby's Earth Month Island-Wide Spring Litter Sweep took place in the city on Sunday, April 12, with residents, visitors, the South Carolina Aquarium and local community groups collecting pieces of trash from beaches, marshes and streets.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Between its streams, lakes, wetlands and floodplains, roughly a fifth of Lake County is covered by surface water, a proportion that likely increased slightly over the last month after multiple heavy rain events.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Ponda Ponda is betting that insulation can come from wetlands instead of oil or animals.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Workers of the 1920s waded into swamps, armed with axes and handsaws.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The fire had reached nearby bays and swamps, which contributed to the challenging firefighting conditions.—
Christopher Harris,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sloughs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sloughs. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
