as in leisurely
moving or proceeding at less than the normal, desirable, or required speed
the poking pace of the repair work has put everything way behind schedule
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in protruding
to extend outward beyond a usual point
saw his head poking through the window
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in messing
to interest oneself in what is not one's concern
told him to stop poking into other people's business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in crawling
to move or act slowly
just poked around all morning and didn't accomplish much
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in dragging
to move slowly
they were just poking along home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of poking
Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of Trump before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of a tree line.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2025
The meme, poking fun at the community, originated in around 2013.
—Dan Gooding
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
His books are satirical, poking light fun at the narrators and their beliefs, but also firmly empathetic.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
The cartoon continues to relish poking its corporate benefactors.
—Nick Marx, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
The resident Rothschild’s giraffes treat bedroom windows like drive-through service, poking their heads in search of the treats guests always have stocked for them.
—Jennifer Kester, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
During the months of Vance's campaign, memes poking fun at him flooded the internet.
—Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Sep. 2025
In July 2024, Thompson's daughter Gaia shared a cheeky post on her Instagram Stories poking fun at 2023's Barbie movie's tagline — and Thompson's ex, Kenneth Branagh.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
In 2009, Tropicana replaced its familiar logo, an orange with a straw poking out, with a minimalist design featuring a glass of orange juice.
—Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of Trump before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of a tree line.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 12 Sep. 2025
The meme, poking fun at the community, originated in around 2013.
—Dan Gooding
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
His books are satirical, poking light fun at the narrators and their beliefs, but also firmly empathetic.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
The cartoon continues to relish poking its corporate benefactors.
—Nick Marx, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025
The resident Rothschild’s giraffes treat bedroom windows like drive-through service, poking their heads in search of the treats guests always have stocked for them.
—Jennifer Kester, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
During the months of Vance's campaign, memes poking fun at him flooded the internet.
—Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Sep. 2025
In July 2024, Thompson's daughter Gaia shared a cheeky post on her Instagram Stories poking fun at 2023's Barbie movie's tagline — and Thompson's ex, Kenneth Branagh.
—Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poking
Adjective
-
The leisurely trips meander along the Snake River, near Grand Teton National Park, for several hours.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Once a working farm in the time of the gold rush, since 1962 the Greenhorn has been a place where the day is taken at a leisurely pace, where visitors soak in the 600 acres that abuts to 500,000 more acres of public land.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the article, Sanderson reported the location of the ship, so that other sailors could steer clear of the protruding masts.—
Taylor Nicioli,
CNN Money,
17 Sep. 2025
-
The next week, a lighthouse keeper reported seeing the masts of the King protruding from the water in the shipping lane — an important clue regarding where the King lay hidden.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The last two seasons have proven that the team starts off slow, which ends up messing their chances of making the playoffs.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Fans catapulted themselves through the air, crawling onto the stage.—
Audrey Gibbs,
Nashville Tennessean,
16 Sep. 2025
-
But the line is wildly popular—the launch of a collaboration with the street artist KAWS sparked a frenzy in China in 2019, with shoppers crawling under shutters, removing clothes from mannequins, and putting one another in headlocks to get the shirts before they were gone.—
Lauren Collins,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Moncur struggled for seven minutes, dragging Blaze — who was locked on her arm — to the front of the facility in search of help.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
16 Sep. 2025
-
The trends have contributed to a slump in consumer confidence, dragging on spending and threatening leaders’ official growth target for this year of around 5%.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
During the prelims in Tokyo, Seville had a concerning slow reaction to the starting gun.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Parisian servers may have an undeserved reputation for being slow, but instead of complaining or searching for faster service elsewhere, settle in with a book or newspaper.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Particle has also accused Epic of defaming the company and interfering in its business relations.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The ministry said the statements violate a principle of international law that bars ambassadors from interfering in the host country’s internal affairs.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Most employees would fear losing their chance to be reimbursed, even at the expense of delaying activities linked to their primary job.—
Rohan Joshi,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Pediatrician medical groups argue delaying this birth dose until one month of life would leave the opportunity for babies to be missed if they are born to a mother infected with the virus or from a close contact soon after birth.—
Sony Salzman,
ABC News,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Poking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poking. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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