spiralling
Turning in circles
Spiralling is the present participle of spiral, used as verb, adjective, or noun.
It describes movement in a coiling pattern that winds around a central point while moving away from or toward it.
More commonly, spiralling characterizes situations that intensify progressively, usually in an undesirable direction: spiralling costs, spiralling debt, spiralling out of control.
The image is of something caught in a vortex, moving faster as it goes.
In British English, the doubled L is standard; American English typically uses spiraling.
Rotating water formation
- cycloneRotating low-pressure storm system
- tornadoViolent rotating windstorm
- maelstromViolent whirlpool or upheaval
- eddyCircular counter-current
gyre · helix · coil · whorl · curl · corkscrew · tendril · nautilus
Ballet turn on one foot
- twirlRotate rapidly, often playfully
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- whirlRotate very quickly
- turnRotational movement
rotation · dervish · waltz · arabesque · pas de deux · revolving · gyrating · swirling
Rising with sudden force
- soaringRising effortlessly upward
- skyrocketingRising sharply and quickly
- ballooningSwelling or aerial drifting
- snowballingIncreasing by rapid accumulation
mushrooming · mounting · accelerating · runaway · compounding · exponential · intensifying · amplifying
Falling steeply and fast
- nosediveSudden steep descent
- tailspinSteep spiral descent
- freefallUnimpeded downward motion
- plungeSudden steep descent
decline · tumble · downward · sinking · crashing · collapsing · deteriorating · unraveling
Lacking any governance
- unravelingProcess of coming undone
- disintegratingBreaking down gradually
- fragmentingBreaking into smaller pieces
- careeningTilting or swaying recklessly
destabilizing · turbulent · volatile · unpredictable · erratic · wild · frenzied · dizzying
whirlpool
Rotating water formation
- cycloneRotating low-pressure storm system
- tornadoViolent rotating windstorm
- maelstromViolent whirlpool or upheaval
eddy · gyre · helix · coil · whorl · curl · corkscrew · tendril · nautilus · fiddlehead
pirouette
Ballet turn on one foot
turn · rotation · dervish · waltz · arabesque · pas de deux · revolving · gyrating · swirling
surging
Rising with sudden force
- soaringRising effortlessly upward
- skyrocketingRising sharply and quickly
- ballooningSwelling or aerial drifting
snowballing · mushrooming · mounting · accelerating · runaway · compounding · exponential · intensifying · amplifying · multiplying
plummeting
Falling steeply and fast
plunge · decline · tumble · downward · sinking · crashing · collapsing · deteriorating · unraveling · imploding
out-of-control
Lacking any governance
- unravelingProcess of coming undone
- disintegratingBreaking down gradually
- fragmentingBreaking into smaller pieces
careening · destabilizing · turbulent · volatile · unpredictable · erratic · wild · frenzied · dizzying · vertiginous
spirallingstraight
Not curved or crooked
linear · direct · arrow-straight · rectilinear · straightforward
spirallingstabilising
Making less likely to shift
levelling · steadying · plateauing · flatlining · evening out