HISSING Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

hissing 1 of 2

noun

as in booing

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Dissimilar Words

hissing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of hiss

as in bubbling

to make a sound like that of stretching out the speech sound \s\ the frightened kitten hissed at us when we tried to pick it up

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 hissing

Noun

Let Jimmy and Dee Haslam, the managing and principal partners of the mess in Cleveland, hear the hissing and feel all of this fury. — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Musty odors, excessive dust and strange hissing noise can mean problems with the ducts, but other problems can go unnoticed. — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 24 July 2026 Fireworks might have additional whistling, crackling or hissing sounds. — Eva Flowe july 1, Charlotte Observer, 1 July 2026 Sure enough, all tires were up and there were no obvious punctures or hissing sounds. — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 28 June 2026 There was no explosion, no frantic hissing, or toxic plume. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026 At one point, he was seen walking toward an SUV's rear passenger side tire when agents heard a pop and a loud hissing noise. — Brandon Downs, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026 Signs that a battery is about to fail include swelling, hissing, popping, an unusual odor and excessive heat, according to a New York Division of Homeland Security battery consumer guide. — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026 And there’s a constant hissing noise around it. — JSTOR Daily, 25 Nov. 2025

Verb

In the first week of the COVID shutdown, Holmes packed her two hissing black cats, donned an N95 mask and flew to LAX. — Meredith Maran, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 This step is what brought us here, to Ponysaurus, filling out the online notice to the tune of a hissing compressor that kept clean air moving through the brewing system. — Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 2 Oct. 2026 Scientists previously created tiny diving suits for Madagascar hissing cockroaches that could be used in perilous search operations, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 3 Sep. 2026 But delivering that level of craft in a high-octane room where the hissing espresso machine competes with the bassline? — Carly Boers, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026 And in 2022, Japanese researchers turned a Madagascar hissing cockroach into a cyborg for search-and-rescue missions using a similar, though more sophisticated, approach. — ArsTechnica, 3 Aug. 2026 The complete assembly weighs just enough for the Madagascar hissing cockroach, a species favored for cyborg research because of its large size, robustness, and wingless body, to carry without significantly impairing its movement. — New Atlas, 18 July 2026 Jason was hissing fiercely; Gordon, who projects a monastic calm, was trying to reason with the mother while batting her back each time the flap swung open. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026 Granny doesn’t discriminate, hissing invective at both Alice and Thya with equal venom. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hissing

Noun

The situation resulted in a 15-plus-minute delay, Boston’s first run of the contest and heavy booing from the home crowd.

— Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026
According to Love, the announcement prompted near-unanimous booing from passengers, Forbes reported.

— Luisa Yanez August 10, Miami Herald, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of booing

Noun

There is just the slow hiss and sigh of the machines, tucked safely out of sight, as social media filled with resistance to mask mandates, to empathy and authority, to the power of the state, and the chorus of anti-vaxxers grew.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
What begins as a folky rendition turns strange with electronic hiss and distorted guitar, even if the bassist is trying to match Dylan’s furor with her instrumentation.

— David Harris, SPIN, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of hiss

Verb

But in his own drawing, De Kooning let rip with liner brushes, swishing them about all over the paper, achieving undulant lines that contract and expand like living creatures.

— Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2026
One displays images of water swishing around the screen’s golden frame.

— Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of swishing

Noun

The early foul trouble forced Brown to turn to Drummond, who checked in on that same whistle with the Knicks down, 8-5.

— Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026
Pushing the ball in transition, George made contact with Detroit guard Duncan Robinson before dramatically collapsing to the floor in an Oscar-worthy attempt to bait a whistle.

— Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of whistle

Verb

One, that it was made not just of ash and soot, but of metal, glass and concrete; and two, that soon this shrapnel would be whizzing by — and perhaps through — my head.

— Timothy Townsend, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
First and foremost is, roughly, that thou shalt not think about ordinary objects presently whizzing through ordinary space.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of whizzing

Noun

The pair barely crack more than a perfunctory smirk, in stark contrast to the uproarious laughter emanating from Fielder’s laptop screen.

— Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
My mom’s siblings usually arrived in a sour mood without greeting anyone at the table, my aunt’s brow furrowed and my uncle wearing a sneaky smirk.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of smirk

Browse Nearby Words

hissies

hissing

hissy

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Style

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

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Synonyms of hissing

noun

verb

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