fanning

verb

present participle of fan
1
as in igniting

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in oscillating

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fanning
  1. igniting
  2. oscillating
  3. inflaming
  4. swaying
  5. triggering
  6. waving
  7. kindling
  8. flicking
Verb
  • Napier’s fate was effectively sealed in 2025 when defensive tackle Brendan Bett was penalized and ejected for spitting on a USF player, igniting the Bulls’ game-winning drive.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026
  • However, data show that roads actually tend to increase the risk of fires igniting.
    — Patrick Parenteau, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of igniting
Verb
  • Those include point absorbers, oscillating water columns and attenuators.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The show then veers back to early work, photographic transparencies with magazine transfers made in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, and continues, gallery by gallery, oscillating between different periods of the artist’s nearly six-decade career.
    — Leah Ollman, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of oscillating
Verb
  • China is increasingly worried about North Korea’s role in creating and intensifying these risks—and about the need to adjust its North Korea strategy to manage them without inflaming tensions and further destabilizing the region.
    — ZHENG JIYONG, Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Chad Gable spent much of last year recovering from surgery after inflaming lucha libre fans with his El Grande Americano gimmick.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of inflaming
Verb
  • The Daisy Chain crowd could be seen holding up their lights and swaying to the music.
    — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Everyone seemingly watches them — and a little tennis — with a $23 Honey Deuce in one hand, swaying to DJ Trizz’s mixes on the sound system.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of swaying
Verb
  • Driven by artificial intelligence demand, memory chips are in short supply, pushing prices steadily higher and triggering explosive profit growth for Micron.
    — , CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Officials are still investigating the exact cause, though preliminary assessments suggest an ice avalanche may have blocked a river upstream in Tibet, triggering the sudden outburst flood.
    — Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of triggering
Verb
  • The midfielder was booked for waving an imaginary yellow card, shown a straight red for violent conduct and also gave away a goal.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The last sidebar called by the judge before lunch appeared intense, with Reddington seen waving his hands a few times.
    — NBC News, NBC news, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of waving
Verb
  • This wildfire season was supercharged by heavy rains in January that spurred vegetation growth, which became kindling when the summer heat arrived.
    — Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Even minor parks or embers might be carried into leaves or grass, kindling a fire that can swiftly expand.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of kindling
Verb
  • The fire had engulfed the garage roof, with flames flicking nearby trees and threatening to spread beyond the garage.
    — Rob Moore, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Playing with the Chromatic is as simple as inserting a cartridge and flicking the power switch.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of flicking
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.

Browse Nearby Words

fannies
fanning
fanning (out)
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Cite this Entry

“Fanning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fanning. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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