DRIFTED Synonyms: 86 Similar and Opposite Words

drifted

verb

past tense of drift

as in flowed

to move or proceed smoothly and readily casual conversation drifting from one topic to another

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in hovered

to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air the boat drifted along on the current

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in wandered

to move about from place to place aimlessly spent several years drifting from town to town, picking up odd jobs whenever he needed cash

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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 drifted For the past 15 years, Ishmael Butler and his cast of collaborators have drifted further and further into the outer reaches, deconstructing and reassembling hip-hop, jazz, and kosmische conventions into sprawling, proggy rhapsodies. — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2026 Meta stock plunged after the hyperscaler drifted into negative free cash flow, while China entered bear market territory with Alibaba’s stock dropping 6%, as investors questioned the return on its AI investments. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026 Firefighters responded to the scene and battled the blaze as smoke drifted across the highway. — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 At 94 years, the Kansas GOP’s streak of one-party dominance in Senate races is the nation’s longest because even in the toughest years, disaffected Republican-leaning voters have reliably drifted back to the party’s fold before election day. — John Hanna, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 Particles of disintegrating kelp drifted downward like falling leaves. — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 The two women talked often, and their conversations eventually drifted to the priesthood. — Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026 The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 The profusion of tarot, crystals, astrology, talismans, and other permutations of spirituality has all drifted mainstream in recent years. — Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for drifted

Verb

From there, wine flowed as attendees tucked into filet mignon and sea bass while chatting across large burgundy floral centerpieces.

— Emily Tannenbaum, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2026
While the broader economy has grown at a healthy rate, the gains have disproportionately flowed to the wealthiest households.

— Josephine Murphy, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of flowed

Verb

Last year, global output for these complex machines hovered around just 9,600 units.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2026
As the military-style helicopter hovered above them, attendees from the rural, predominantly Latino community, began to get nervous.

— Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of hovered

Verb

Five burros were killed and a driver was injured when a herd wandered onto the 215 Freeway in 2020.

— Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
At one point, McLoughlin even snubbed Sylvester Stallone, another Kennedy Center Honoree who had wandered into the bar.

— Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of wandered

Verb

The Giants had a chance to take the lead after that but Dominic Zvada’s 44-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right.

— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Needing 11 yards on fourth down to continue their drive and cut into a 23-7 Packers lead, Prescott narrowly avoided a sack before lofting a pass that sailed out the back of the end zone, not close to any particular Cowboys receiver.

— Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of sailed

Verb

Even after Bretton Woods collapsed and many currencies floated freely, the dollar continued to dominate.

— Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
Ryanair even floated the idea of charging to use the bathroom or getting rid of seats and having passengers stand, though neither took flight.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of floated

Verb

The pinkish squid glided two miles beneath the surface, its long, pale legs trailing from undulating fins, stunning scientists who know remarkably little about its diet, behavior or reproduction.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Merino glided away from challenges to keep Arsenal in control.

— Thom Harris, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of glided

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drift

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drifter

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“Drifted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drifted. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of drifted

verb

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