corkscrewing

verb

present participle of corkscrew
1
as in pulling
to draw out by force or with effort practically every word had to be corkscrewed out of the tight-lipped witness

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in winding
to follow a circular or spiral course the trail corkscrews through dense woods to the top of the steep hill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 corkscrewing Bystanders captured video showing the jet corkscrewing toward the ground, then disappearing behind homes before a large black plume of smoke appears. — Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 13 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for corkscrewing
  1. pulling
  2. winding
  3. prying
  4. coiling
  5. yanking
  6. curling
  7. extracting
  8. curving
Verb
  • Why TikTok livestream selling can drive big sales Three forces are pulling sellers toward livestream commerce, and Duplantis’s numbers reflect all of them.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Wildfire risk is pushing insurers to underwrite hotels based on physical resilience rather than location alone, and carriers are pulling back from some markets entirely.
    — Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of pulling
Verb
  • Tracing the length of one of these wild, winding promontories is the glorious, 46-mile Queen Charlotte Track, says Helen Pickles in The Times.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 30 Aug. 2026
  • For Fernández, now Miss Montana, the road to success has been winding.
    — Sarah Moreno, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of winding
Verb
  • Spanning 42 feet long and more than 14 feet wide, the observatory is designed to explore the outer solar system and beyond – prying into previously unobservable areas of the universe to study dark energy and search for exoplanets.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • This is an uncomplicated yarn about a man prying open his heart and nudging other hard nuts to do the same.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of prying
Verb
  • Joe Kramm | Courtesy of Francis Interiors The gold background is a spread of bold graphic lines, undulating shapes and coiling circular motifs, referencing the work of French artist, sculptor and designer Jean Dunand (1877–1942).
    — R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
  • Receiving a ball punched out of Tunisia’s area, the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder took one touch to knock it into space, before coiling his diminutive frame behind a fierce shot that fizzed and curled into the net.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 15 June 2026
Definition of coiling
Verb
  • The episode feinted toward genuine rapprochement before yanking the rug out, leaving the Gang pelted with an industrial-grade indoor blizzard and then happily chucking rocks at passing trains, as was Mac and Charlie’s childhood tradition.
    — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 July 2026
  • The tentacular Scylla is seen briefly but makes an impact, yanking sailors off Odysseus’s ship in a series of loud jump scares.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 July 2026
Definition of yanking
Verb
  • Five minutes later, Messi gave Miami the lead, curling his shot in tight space past three defenders, quieting the sellout crowd at Subaru Park.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond its championship golf courses, guests can play tennis and pickleball, take a hot yoga class, go cross-country skiing, or even try curling.
    — Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of curling
Verb
  • Against that backdrop, Pina’s speech asserted the platform should be regarded as a partner to television, rather than a tech giant extracting audiences and value from it.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Lynn was reluctant to take credit for extracting the performance from Curry.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of extracting
Verb
  • Here, nothing comparable to a ball is physically curving through space.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Its flowing, inward-curving shape wraps around a 30-foot central tower, forming a space where people can come together to reflect, remember, and gather.
    — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of curving

Browse Nearby Words

corkscrewed
corkscrewing
corkscrews
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Cite this Entry

“Corkscrewing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/corkscrewing. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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