HOVERED Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

hovered

verb

past tense of hover

as in floated

to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air claimed that the UFO hovered a moment, then spun off into space at incredible speed

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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 hovered In fact, total non-pensioner benefits have hovered between 4% and 5% for more than 40 years. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 4 Oct. 2026 Jordan Addison has hovered just below the 1,000-yard mark for two of his previous three seasons. — Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2026 Support for capital punishment has, in the past twenty-five years, hovered at around half the population. — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026 That includes the interest rates charged on this second mortgage, which, according to the Budget and Policy Center, likely would be higher than the current rates for conventional mortgages, which have hovered around 7% for a 30-year mortgage. — Audrey McGlinchy, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Current government figures estimate that prisons, which hovered somewhere between 97% and 98% capacity last month, will fill up by November without urgent action. — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026 The former traded around the levels not seen since 2007, while the latter hovered near 2004 highs. — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026 Yields on Japan’s 10-year bonds rose to their highest level in three decades, while US Treasury yields hovered above 5%, a level not seen since the 2007 financial crisis, helping push American mortgage rates to more than 7%. — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 25 Sep. 2026 On Thursday, Oates’ attorney made his final argument in the two-week trial at Placer County’s historic Auburn courthouse, questioning Flores’ financial demands and offering instead a calculation of loss that hovered at around $4 million. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hovered

Verb

Ellison floated the idea of having the companies leave California if the suit wasn’t dropped, while states like Texas and Tennessee actively courted the mogul.

— Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Beckwith, the deputy director and chief curator at the Guggenheim Museum and curator of Documenta16, floated through the room chatting with fellow honorees and guests.

— Brianna J. Heath, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of floated

Verb

Aubrey's 65-yard attempt with about 30 seconds left in the second quarter sailed wide left.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
Before its commissioning, the destroyer sailed from Norfolk to Florida and then traveled to Alaska through the Panama Canal.

— Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of sailed

Verb

That includes a robotic ray driven by light-sensitive rat heart cells in 2016 and a fish robot with human heart cells that swam on its own in 2022.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 3 Oct. 2026
The crews gave up hours later after the shark repeatedly swam past or dived to avoid the boats, remaining inside the canal.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of swam

Verb

After the young widow stepped back behind the black curtains, where scoops of mint chocolate chip in disposable bamboo bowls drifted through a room of donors and White House staffers, the evening moved from celebration to wake.

— Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026
Now Alicia, a New York dame, drifted over to the orange jackets.

— Anand Giridharadas, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of drifted

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