Thesaurus results for SIGHING

sighing

verb

present participle of sigh

as in gasping

to take in and let out a deep audible breath or to make a similar sound Mom always used to sigh loudly whenever she found a mess on the floor—which was often a breeze sighed through the leaves

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 sighing By the 11th game of the third set, Keys was hitting herself in the head with her racket, taking her cap off and sighing deep breaths that were either meant to steady her or out of exasperation. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026 The soundtrack—by the frequent Hans Zimmer collaborator David Fleming—is a delight, a polyphonic mood board of ghost-clangs, spooky bassoons, lyrical electro-motifs, and sighing sea themes. — James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026 The internet may be full of people who want to outlaw leaf blowers, but misophonic triggers tend to share a bodily quality, an aurally traceable culprit such as a person crunching or sighing. — Sloane Crosley, New Yorker, 8 June 2026 Also, remember that the avatar is reading your body language, eye contact, any kind of sighing or moaning. — Phil Blair, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026 Watch On As every streaming platform inevitably becomes like linear TV and offers up more commercials than common sense, we're left sighing at the 360 that society has taken. — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 3 June 2026 There are nearly two hundred people standing there, looking around and sighing. — Literary Hub, 27 May 2026 But the people in these plays aren’t sighing and slumping. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026 And while many might be reluctant to close the time capsule door on their beloved skinnies, some of us are sighing with relief that the current denim trend is comfy enough for travel. — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 11 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sighing

Verb

Abrams does yeoman’s work with a character stuck in a tight spot for most of the running time, constantly grunting and gasping with a mixture of anguish and exhaustion as his body gets progressively more beat up and broken.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
Judy lit his cigarette and sucked on it as if gasping for air.

— Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of gasping

Verb

In February 2025, more than a year before her death, Aurora was taken to an emergency room by a relative after experiencing asthma symptoms, wheezing and difficulty breathing, according to prosecutors.

— Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
But Sprenger is like Victor Frankenstein, his electronic voice and its warped utterances breathing an uneasiness into everything around it.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of breathing

Verb

Eventually, Bird’s film — with a script co-written by Matthew Robbins — gets to the meat of the action when Venus’ extremely complicated life runs smack into Ray and his knack for sniffing out bad guys.

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026
In the doorframe was the manager, sniffing around, suspicions aroused.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of sniffing

Verb

Like some of the music, the album artwork also pays homage to the animal world and our interconnectedness—the abstract piece offers a single line drawing that weaves in outlines of a panting dog, screeching cat, stoic bunny, and wise owl.

— Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 28 Sep. 2026
The delivery person added that none of the canines appeared to have access to food or sufficient water, and that all the animals were panting.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026