as in darting
to make an irregular series of quick, sudden movements
bargain hunters at the flea market flitted from table to table like hummingbirds in a garden
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of flitting
Here’s what to do to get rid of pesky moths flitting around indoors.
—
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2026
Men have been doing it for decades, flitting between the low-brow and the high-brow without losing any of their Serious Actor sheen in the process.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 22 Jan. 2026
But how bats can tell which echo to follow while flitting around in a sea of overlapping and competing signals pinging off the myriad surfaces in their environments has been a mystery—until now.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2026
At ease everywhere from flitting free jazz to looser, funkier textures, Allen abides, insistent but never overbearing on a session well worth the wait.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
That Cody Balmer avowed the Palestinian cause in his call to 911, despite no prior connection to it, fits the general pattern, since that’s what was flitting across his screens.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
At its center is a 30-foot ferris wheel with twirling elements including a sun and moon, and 28 mechanical butterflies with beating wings flitting among colorful flowers.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 14 Nov. 2025
Pulse is a ghost story, featuring two interwoven storylines about young Tokyoites who begin to see and hear strange apparitions flitting across their computer screens.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
The spaces are smaller, with lower benches, and the older players, flitting between dressing rooms for U14s and U12s, have had to take their belongings home each day rather than leave them in lockers due to the carousel of teams moving in and out.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2026
Men have been doing it for decades, flitting between the low-brow and the high-brow without losing any of their Serious Actor sheen in the process.
—Sam Reed, Glamour, 22 Jan. 2026
But how bats can tell which echo to follow while flitting around in a sea of overlapping and competing signals pinging off the myriad surfaces in their environments has been a mystery—until now.
—Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 20 Jan. 2026
At ease everywhere from flitting free jazz to looser, funkier textures, Allen abides, insistent but never overbearing on a session well worth the wait.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
That Cody Balmer avowed the Palestinian cause in his call to 911, despite no prior connection to it, fits the general pattern, since that’s what was flitting across his screens.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025
At its center is a 30-foot ferris wheel with twirling elements including a sun and moon, and 28 mechanical butterflies with beating wings flitting among colorful flowers.
—Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 14 Nov. 2025
Pulse is a ghost story, featuring two interwoven storylines about young Tokyoites who begin to see and hear strange apparitions flitting across their computer screens.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
The spaces are smaller, with lower benches, and the older players, flitting between dressing rooms for U14s and U12s, have had to take their belongings home each day rather than leave them in lockers due to the carousel of teams moving in and out.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flitting
Verb
-
Tracking each bear over the ice with helicopters and periodically darting them to take body measurements on the ground, the researchers were able to estimate the animals’ overall physical health—a metric called body condition index, or BCI.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Chirring insects, cool eels, darting dice snakes in the Volga delta.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The hand in motion, the fluttering scarf, the sparkling outfit.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Nothing sparks a team quite like killing off a five-on-three, and Canada scored in transition just 14 seconds after Fast was freed, as Kristin O’Neill batted in a fluttering Fast rebound for a 1-0 lead.—
Hailey Salvian,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To mark the third anniversary of his death, Holker in December shared clips of the pair dancing together and photos of them with their children.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Whether at Artistic Edge Dance Centre in Hartland or on a competition stage, Jay Ramos-Rivera is constantly dancing.—
Bridget Fogarty,
jsonline.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flitting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flitting. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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