FLOWS Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

flows 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flow

as in streams

to move in a stream water was flowing over the dam at a tremendous rate

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in glides

to move or proceed smoothly and readily as everyone relaxed, the conversation really started to flow

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

flows

2 of 2

noun

plural of flow

as in floods

Related Words

Dissimilar 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 flows

Verb

Rather than funding a single program, the donation from the Dimons flows into permanent endowments, which UNCF argues gives schools the freedom to plan for decades instead of scrambling to find donations year to year. — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026 This force flows from a populational logic that uses statistics and algorithms to distribute the state’s violence work. — Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026 The basis of the creation of Tangle Teezer The Complete Carebrush was on how hair flows through a brush. — Celia Shatzman, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 The roughly 15-mile Little Wekiva flows north from Orange County under state roads 436 and 434 in Altamonte Springs, before joining with the larger Wekiva River just west of the Alaqua Lake subdivision. — Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026 At the start of the next round, the draft order flows from 1-12 and 12-1 again as usual. — Sports Betting, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026 The show imagines communities centered on the Mississippi River, which flows through Minneapolis, and the installation echoes a riverbed, with platforms approximating islands. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Traffic on the critical waterway, through which one-fifth of global crude oil typically flows, has reduced to a trickle since the war started in February. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 What initially looks confusing or inconsistent is actually behavior that flows logically from a traumatized brain. — Michele Patterson Ford, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026

Noun

About 20% of the world's oil flows throw the strait, and Iran's ability to block the flow of tankers has roiled the global economy, sending oil prices soaring. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flows

Verb

As starlight streams through the telescope, those actuators subtly reshape the mirrors in real time, correcting for imperfections in the telescope's optics smaller than the width of a strand of DNA.

— Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
The World Cup next year will stream on Netflix, while TNT Sports has the rights to upcoming USWNT matches and Paramount+ streams most Women’s Super League contests.

— Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of streams

Verb

Viewed through a singular perspective, the camera glides with measured precision, reflecting her focus and quiet intensity.

— Daron James, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Start your visit with a ride on the Bretton Woods Skyway Gondola, which glides above the treetops to reveal sweeping views of the Presidential Range painted in brilliant shades of crimson, amber and gold.

— Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

Definition of glides

Noun

At least 165 people have been killed, and hundreds more are missing after catastrophic floods swept through towns and valleys along the border between Nepal and China's Tibet region.

— Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2026
And in other spots in Florida, like the Keys and Tampa Bay, residents are choosing to elevate their existing homes several feet to keep them safe from floods.

— Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of floods

Verb

Mykonos Vioma pours organic estate wines at its farm near Ano Mera, while Mikònu moved its taproom in 2026 to Mathios Taverna in Tourlos, where prickly-pear ale comes with dinner and a sea view.

— Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026
Up the hillside there ever pours in reinforcements, clutching cans of beer and occasionally flags…There is something about it all of a children’s crusade, the young people look so innocent and take their pleasure so gravely.

— Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of pours

Noun

The rocks and melted water suddenly swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing torrents of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
Footage shows torrents of mud and debris sweeping through settlements and carrying buildings and vehicles with them.

— Milad Haghani, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of torrents

Verb

There’s optimism Kansas could have an underrated defense, TCU cruises to a relative easy 30-plus points.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Traveling such vast distances between our solar system's most remote objects means New Horizons often cruises for months at a time with little to do other than passively collect data.

— Brett Tingley, Space.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of cruises

Noun

Weeks after overflows from Atlanta’s sewer tunnels contributed to the deaths of thousands of fish on the Chattahoochee River, the city’s Department of Watershed Management says its investigating another fish kill on a different river.

— Drew Kann, AJC.com, 1 July 2026
As Connecticut’s climate changes, more frequent and intense storms have lead to more overflows.

— Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026