1
as in flowed
to move or proceed smoothly and readily
casual conversation drifting from one topic to another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in hovered
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air
the boat drifted along on the current
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in wandered
to move about from place to place aimlessly
spent several years drifting from town to town, picking up odd jobs whenever he needed cash
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of drifted
The system was able to consistently track how these icebergs split, drifted, and melted over time.
—
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Feb. 2026
The man's pickup truck drifted over the centerline and struck a school bus head-on.
—Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Well driving from Florida to New York the car still drifted right.
—John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
Word of specific cuts drifted out during the day, as when Cairo Bureau Chief Claire Parker announced on X that she had been laid off, along with all of the newspaper’s Middle East correspondents and editors.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2026
The family had drifted about 9 miles from Quindalup in Western Australia state and spent about 10 hours in the water.
—Rod McGuirk, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Two years ago, the Seahawks had drifted into mediocrity, and Allen had to make another shrewd judgment call.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Sakchai Vongsasiripat/Getty Images Credit card rates have quietly drifted higher in recent years, and — unlike many other borrowing options — rates on these short-term borrowing tools have stayed elevated, despite the overall rate environment easing substantially.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
The Haycrafts had drifted apart around this time, after one of their sons died in an accident, and Anna became vehemently religious.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 6 Feb. 2026
The man's pickup truck drifted over the centerline and struck a school bus head-on.
—Cathy Kozlowicz, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Well driving from Florida to New York the car still drifted right.
—John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs and Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast, Hartford Courant, 5 Feb. 2026
Word of specific cuts drifted out during the day, as when Cairo Bureau Chief Claire Parker announced on X that she had been laid off, along with all of the newspaper’s Middle East correspondents and editors.
—David Bauder, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2026
The family had drifted about 9 miles from Quindalup in Western Australia state and spent about 10 hours in the water.
—Rod McGuirk, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Two years ago, the Seahawks had drifted into mediocrity, and Allen had to make another shrewd judgment call.
—Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
Sakchai Vongsasiripat/Getty Images Credit card rates have quietly drifted higher in recent years, and — unlike many other borrowing options — rates on these short-term borrowing tools have stayed elevated, despite the overall rate environment easing substantially.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026
The Haycrafts had drifted apart around this time, after one of their sons died in an accident, and Anna became vehemently religious.
—Christopher Tayler, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drifted
Verb
-
For decades, a significant share of the world's rough diamonds flowed into Antwerp from Russia.—
Chris Livesay,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
-
This time, condemnations flowed from across the spectrum — along with demands for an apology that had not come by late afternoon.—
Bill Barrow,
Fortune,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As a helicopter hovered overhead and legal observers blew whistles, the center went into a lockdown that lasted three hours that day, and then did the same for four hours the next day when ICE circled again.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The labor market has slowed in recent months, while inflation has hovered above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2%.—
Max Zahn,
ABC News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But that has changed in the past century or so as the philosophers’ musings have wandered into the realm of theory, experiment and data.—
Sarah Scoles,
Scientific American,
10 Feb. 2026
-
But Lindsey Vonn never wandered.—
Outside,
Outside,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The couple sailed to the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean International’s Wonder of the Seas specifically to visit Royal Beach Club Paradise Island, which opened in December.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
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Her skis sailed out from under her.—
Will Graves,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In Tennyson’s youth, geologists amassed evidence in support of the proposition, first floated in the previous century, that the age of the earth was not measurable in the familiar and Biblically sanctioned sum of thousands of years but, rather, in untold billions.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
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He was drilled by Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon on his second interception as Witherspoon hit Maye’s arm and the ball floated out of his hands and right to Nwosu, who had nothing but open field in front of him.—
Greg Dudek,
Hartford Courant,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
From an animal that once roamed across a wide swath of eastern Australia to a population small enough to fit in a single room — the collapse was staggering.—
Hanna Wickes,
Miami Herald,
13 Feb. 2026
-
In early 2025, right-wing influencers roamed downtown Nuuk, handing out $100 bills to children and telling them to pose for cameras while wearing free MAGA swag.—
Ken Harbaugh,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Ships the length of several football fields glided past tidy parcels of farmland and Soberania National Park, a 55,000-acre natural preserve.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Feb. 2026
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Liverpool levelled just five minutes later, when Wirtz glided away from challenges and set up Ekitike for a sharp finish.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Last week, a 13-year-old boy swam for hours to shore to get help for his mother and siblings after the family was swept out to sea.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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Owen also swam on the winning 200 medley and 400 free relay teams.—
Todd Holcomb,
AJC.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Drifted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drifted. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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