wisping
Moving like smoke
Wisping describes the action of moving or forming in thin, delicate strands or trails, like smoke or fog drifting through air.
Hair wisping across someone's face moves in light, feathery tendrils.
The word captures gentle, ethereal movement: Steam was wisping up from the coffee cup.
It can also describe the process of separating something into wisp-like portions or applying something in delicate, barely-there strokes.
Forming curved shapes
- coilingLooping around repeatedly
- risingAct of ascending
- spiralingCurving in widening circles
- driftingMoving without purpose
plume · tendril · haze · vapor · fume · incense · ember · smolder
Floating through air
- driftingMoving without purpose
- billowingPuffing out dramatically
- flutteringLight, rapid movement
- curlingForming curved shapes
swirling · floating · trailing · streaming · spiraling · eddying · coiling · unfurling
Filmy, delicate material
- featheryLight and soft-textured
- diaphanousDelicately translucent
- threadlikeResembling thin strands
- filmyThin and translucent
gauzy · cobwebby · silken · fine · sheer · lacy · insubstantial · frail
Passing very quickly
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
- dissipatingScattering and fading out
- fadingGradual loss of intensity
vanishing · dissolving · dispersing · evaporating · thinning · scattering · melting · disintegrating
Ghostlike or wavelength-related
- ghostlyResembling a specter
- phantasmalLike an apparition
- otherworldlySeemingly not earthly
- wraithlikeResembling a ghost
apparitional · incorporeal · nebulous · misty · hazy · dreamlike · haunting · elusive
curling
Forming curved shapes
drifting · plume · tendril · haze · vapor · fume · incense · ember · smolder · exhale
wafting
Floating through air
- driftingMoving without purpose
- billowingPuffing out dramatically
- flutteringLight, rapid movement
curling · swirling · floating · trailing · streaming · spiraling · eddying · coiling · unfurling · meandering
gossamer
Filmy, delicate material
- featheryLight and soft-textured
- diaphanousDelicately translucent
- threadlikeResembling thin strands
filmy · gauzy · cobwebby · silken · fine · sheer · lacy · insubstantial · frail · tenuous
fleeting
Passing very quickly
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
- dissipatingScattering and fading out
fading · vanishing · dissolving · dispersing · evaporating · thinning · scattering · melting · disintegrating · fragmenting
spectral
Ghostlike or wavelength-related
- ghostlyResembling a specter
- phantasmalLike an apparition
- otherworldlySeemingly not earthly
wraithlike · apparitional · incorporeal · nebulous · misty · hazy · dreamlike · haunting · elusive · shadowy
murmuring
Speaking softly, indistinctly
- susurrationSoft whispering noise
- breathyHaving audible exhalation
- sibilantFricative with hiss quality
rustling · sighing · hissing · soft · faint · hushed · gentle · subtle · quiet · trace
wispingsurging
Rising with sudden force
roaring · thundering · blasting · rushing · gusting
wispingsolidifying
Becoming rigid or fixed
coalescing · condensing · congealing · thickening · clumping