AFLOAT Synonyms: 26 Similar and Opposite Words

afloat 1 of 2

adjective

ə-ˈflōt

Definition of afloat

as in floating

riding upon the surface of a body of liquid the boat can't stay afloat much longer

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

afloat

2 of 2

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 afloat

Adjective

Others clung onto one another, buoys and pieces of wreckage, shivering and treading water to stay afloat. — Jaimie Ding, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026 Its advocacy work remained limited, largely because its board members were all working to keep their own arts organizations, including several of the state’s eight Direct Regional Service Organizations, or DRSOs, financially afloat. — Lucy Gellman, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026 Unlike previous Ship splashdowns, though, which have exploded after tipping over into the water, Ship 40 remained largely intact and afloat. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026 Such outlets depended heavily on taxpayer funding, which fed into state advertising and government communication campaigns, and have now lost the support that kept them afloat. — Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2026 The guest lectures, speaking engagements, and board memberships have all dried up, and Housewives is pretty much the only thing keeping her afloat. — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026 Through a long winter, more young players will be forced to sell off pieces of their future just to stay afloat. — Chris Koras, Sportico.com, 28 Sep. 2026 There are no grand revelations here, just cups of tea, glasses of wine, difficult clients, bad jokes, old songs, and the small acts through which people keep one another afloat. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026 Recovery and transformation As small businesses in the area fought to stay afloat, an injection of federal cash helped the effort. — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026

Adverb

As the demands of the Revolution and founding a new country repeatedly pulled John away, Abigail single-handedly kept their household afloat. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2026 The spending helps keep the economy afloat amid rising inflation — but at a cost to households digging deeper into debt to stretch their paychecks. — Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 20 Oct. 2026 Joe should be credited for being the steady hand who kept the leaking ship afloat long enough to win a couple of unlikely division titles. — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 15 Oct. 2026 For now, the leading AI companies can stay afloat by attracting huge investment (OpenAI and Anthropic), or subsidizing their AI operations with their traditional revenue streams (Google and Meta). — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 14 Oct. 2026 Creditors continue to roll over loans to keep struggling firms afloat, even as nearly a third of them are losing money. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026 The family has since scrambled to keep their business and household afloat. — Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026 Seth Herald | Reuters Many immigrant business owners depleted their life savings to keep stores afloat during the surge, according to Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis City Council member who represents part of Lake Street. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026 That may be true, but the company’s hybrids are what’s keeping its EV business afloat. — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 5 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for afloat

Adjective

Companies with a smaller market value generally tend to have more floating rate debt than larger businesses.

— Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025
Social media posts and years of reviewing cookie-cutter luxury hotels had conditioned me to equate floating breakfasts, monogrammed accessories, butler service, and aromatherapy menus as markers of a dreamy luxury vacation.

— Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 22 Oct. 2024

Definition of floating

Adverb

Israeli law generally requires citizens to vote in person in the country, with narrow exceptions for diplomats and certain official emissaries abroad.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado has returned to Venezuela after ten months abroad, announcing her arrival in a social media post.

— Carrie Kahn, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of abroad

Adverb

This time the recipient is area rancher Benjamin Bonney (Dermot Mulroney), who along with his thuggish sons is suspected of murdering anyone hereabouts who won’t surrender their own land to him.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 10 Jan. 2025
Blame the damp and moderate climate hereabouts or the particular ardor of the northern red-legged frog, but our target species is ready to hop anytime between early November and the middle of March.

— Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024

Definition of hereabouts

Adverb

While parts of the Southwest are rocky with little vegetation and are naturally prone to flash flooding, the recent rains made flooding everywhere more likely.

— MEAD GRUVER, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Inside, a large stone fireplace connects an open-plan living area and dining room; there’s wood paneling everywhere, and more than one piece of rustic log furniture to really cement that cabin feel.

— Lindsay Cohn, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of everywhere

Browse Nearby Words

aflame

afloat

aflutter

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Style

“Afloat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/afloat. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of afloat

adjective

adverb

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