SPINNING Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

spinning

verb

present participle of spin

as in rotating

to move in circles around an axis or center spinning on its axis, the Earth makes one complete rotation every 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in swimming

to be in a confused state as if from being twirled around my head spun as I contemplated all the possible problems this restructuring could cause

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in twirling

to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis spun the child around until he was hopelessly dizzy

Synonyms & Similar 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 spinning After decades of mathematicians spinning their wheels, the problem suddenly seemed tractable. —

Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 19 May 2026 Some come out the other side of illness, but most loop through an unpredictable whirlpool, at times within sight of shore, at other moments spinning back out to sea. —

Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 Dramatic video showed the pair of fighter jets colliding midair before spinning toward the ground in a fiery crash amid black plumes of smoke. —

Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 18 May 2026 Arapahoe Basin ski area finally closed the season out on Sunday; the last major resort still spinning lifts in the state. —

Spencer Wilson, CBS News, 18 May 2026 In March, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California completed tests on rotor designs that could be used to fly those drones, spinning the experimental helicopter blades fast enough for their tips to exceed Mach 1 (the speed of sound). —

Josh Dinner, Space.com, 17 May 2026 Videos show collision, parachutes opening in the sky Photos and videos shared on social media showed the two fighter jets colliding midair before spinning and crashing to the ground, causing a fiery explosion and large plumes of black smoke to billow into the sky. —

Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 17 May 2026 The image of the week was Musk standing in the plaza outside the Great Hall of the People, phone aloft, spinning a full 360 degrees to capture a panoramic video of his surroundings while Cook, Huang, and the other CEOs stood respectfully still. —

Drew Bernstein, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026 During a recent experience, the eight mini games ranged from trivia to stacking foam blocks and from Nerf dart shooting to spinning a giant wheel for points. —

Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spinning

Verb

The third-year students spent nearly a year developing and refining the engine, which runs through continuous rotating explosions in a circular chamber.

— Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 May 2026
The worst of the severe weather is expected west and northwest of the Kansas City metro, where supercells (large, rotating thunderstorms) capable of producing hail and strong to intense tornadoes are most likely from central Kansas and southeast Nebraska into Iowa and northwest Missouri.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 May 2026