NOSING Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

nosing

verb

Definition of nosing

present participle of nose

as in sniffing

to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose could nose the garbage from across the street

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in interfering

to interest oneself in what is not one's concern a neighbor who likes to nose around in everyone else's business

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in dragging

to move slowly the line to get tickets is just nosing, so we are going to be here for a while

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nosing

Verb

In sniffing out the many, many chemical compounds that naked mole rats produce, scientists found that isopropyl myristate was common among queens and queens alone.

— Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 26 Aug. 2026
Mondon, a 2025 fifth-round pick, opened team drills with the second-team defense by sniffing out a run along the perimeter.

— Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of sniffing

Verb

Under the law, federal officers are prohibited from interfering in elections.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 26 Aug. 2026
However, according to the report, violence is increasing in museum thefts, with thieves using instruments such as dynamite, guns, and sledgehammers to gain access to treasures and deter employees from interfering.

— News Desk, Artforum, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of interfering

Verb

As mentioned previously, Babcock obstinately played a late-career Marleau in significant minutes during his time in Toronto with dragging results.

— Janson Duench, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
The officer ordered him to stop, but the man continued driving, dragging the officer a short distance.

— Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of dragging

Verb

Dogs slept outside and got baths every six months and sometimes disappeared for three days and then came home smelling like Paris Hilton circa 2003, and no one asked any questions.

— Mimi Montgomery, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
The fresh-smelling fragrance is available in several Bath & Body Works go-tos, including the Liquidless Reeds and Single Wick Candle.

— Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of smelling

Verb

One of the groups was seen leaving about three hours afterward, according to the NYPD, while the second odd circumstance ended after individuals were seen crawling out and leaving in a vehicle more than two and a half hours after.

— Amethyst Martinez, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Nidhi imagined the baby crawling around in her mother’s body, desperately seeking the uterus, and, failing to find it in its proper place, quietly shrivelling up and dying.

— Madhuri Vijay, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of crawling

Verb

And in the summer working, caring for the garden, cultivating my plants, my food, inhaling the sun, seeing my skin become brown just as the flowers are also growing their colours, and my beloved garden plants are delivering their brilliant food.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
More studies are showing the wide-ranging negative health impacts of inhaling wildfire smoke, which is especially toxic when blazes tear through urban areas and burn up household appliances, batteries and chemicals.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of inhaling

Verb

Most of what’s actionable comes from the signal that might be poking through.

— Ben Gretch, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
In the shade of a dense forest canopy, Odette Kouakou paces through her grove of cocoa trees, snapping off dead leaves and poking the ripe yellow pods hanging down from the branches with a stick.

— Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of poking

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

nosiness

nosing

nosing out

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Style

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

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Synonyms of nosing

verb

Example Sentences

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